


THE SHELTER

by Squiped_Mew



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Collage, Conspiracy, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Developing Relationship, Drama, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Manipulation, Empath, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Illustrations, Implied Sexual Content, Introspection, M/M, Mind Games, Mutant Powers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Horror, Relationship(s), Secrets, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Tension, because thats like the only other place to put original work, i wouldnt touch it with a 6 foot pole otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28074456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squiped_Mew/pseuds/Squiped_Mew
Summary: Harkwell Academy. A school to train the next generation of police's various powers and abilities - or so it seems on the surface.Kori Saelim. A mildly depressed second year college student, with the uncanny ability to control his own blood and bone, an ability that is unexplained by science, unlike the rest of his college's powers. That is, until one day, he finds a supposedly amnesiac boy in a coma under the school, by the name of Jikan, who can read other people's emotions, another power that isn't scientifically possible.But not everything is as it seems. Strange things begin to happen once Jikan shows up. The students are acting shiftier. Almost everyone has a secret, and none of it is good.And at the center of all of this, Kori's strange dreams - ones that may point to feelings he doesn't want to acknowledge.They'll find no shelter at Harkwell - and certainly none with each other.(Updates every Tuesday.)
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. 0 - prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first original work, so constructive criticism is appreciated.

It’s cold.

  
  


It’s cold and dark and wet.

  
  


Heat seeps out from his chest, and he looks up, black eyes bleary. 

Red flits past his face. 

He can taste it in the back of his mouth.

  
  
  


The light above him becomes less and less clear, and he weakly reaches an arm out, hand outstretched to a vehicle that he knows is getting further and further away with every second he’s here. 

There’s muffled sounds above him, the light above him flaring red, but he doesn’t care.

  
  
  


All he can find in himself is to utter one single name.

  
  


The gun that fired the round, directly into his heart, splitting him in two. 

  
  


“...Jikan…”

And he sinks, sinking into the sand of his memories. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	2. 1 - discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dream is the same every night.

The dream is the same every night. 

  
  


He’s standing on the edge of a marsh of some kind. Sometimes it’s a lagoon, if his brain is feeling especially potent. The moon is full, larger than it should be - but it never strikes him as off. The sand is warm under his bare feet. The atmosphere glows with green. 

When the warm arms slink around his shoulders, he never turns to see who it is, instead staying stock still, eyes fixed on a point neither of them can see.

The person behind him quietly asks why he’s so tense, and he has no response to that. Then, the air hisses a simmering blue, shadows elongating under them. The question shifts to why he’s so scared. 

  
  


The answer there is always different. Maybe he’s had a bad day. Maybe he’s more lucid than other nights, catching onto the scene at hand, refusing to play the other’s games.

The worst nights are when he’s honest. When he spits out everything that gnaws at him, the pool of emptiness that roars in his stomach, longing to be filled by someone, anyone, but no one ever satiating the lonely need. That always gets a laugh out, slender arms sliding down to his waist, feeling a jawline brush his shoulders, the two of them sinking to the ground. 

Maybe he doesn’t understand what’s going on. But it’s nice, sometimes, to be held like this. Like he’s worth something.

The other person always whispers something, then. Something Kori never wants to hear. 

One way or the other, someone leans in, features blurred into shimmering heat waves, closing the distance between the two until there isn’t any at all.

  
  
  
  
  
  


And then Kori wakes up.

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

It’s a damp October morning outside, morning dew dripping off of the yellow leaves. Kori treks back to the fence surrounding the school, tripping over roots obscured by the mist. 

  
  


He hears the fence before he sees it, a soft hum that would be soothing without the context. Beyond it, down the steep hill, water washes up on a beach. If he squints, he can see a can of beer laying on the shore, dented and caved in by someone - probably some students who got over the fence and left some beer down at the shoreline.

  
  


“They fixed the fence yesterday.”

Kori turns to see someone walking out of the mist, blonde hair tied back in a sloppy bun. Raina smiles sardonically, kicking dirt up from under her feet. 

“Apparently the storm last week really did a number on it.” Kori sighs, moving to sit down next to Raina under a tree, not caring if his butt gets wet. “Roy tried to see if it was still broken last night. He cried like a bitch after he got shocked.”

“What did he expect?” Kori remarks dryly, picking at the blood from yesterday’s training under his nails. Raina shrugs in response. “For an undergrad, he’s kind of a moron.”

“Aren’t all undergrad’s morons?” Raina retorts. 

“That includes you, y’know.”

“Never said it didn’t.” Kori playfully punches Raina’s arm, before letting his head loll back onto the wet bark behind him. Raina looks on, arching a thin eyebrow at his brooding.

“You good?” She asks, throwing her arms behind her head. 

“M’ fine. Just having weird dreams.” When Raina wiggles her eyebrows, Kori exhales through his teeth, rolling his eyes. “Not like  _ that _ , you weirdo.” Well… maybe it overlaps into that category, though that certainly doesn’t mean he was enjoying himself. 

“Care to elaborate?” Raina probes, shifting to her: ‘I Will Not Be Satisfied Until You Answer Me’ tone. 

Kori, however, doesn’t cave. “Not particularly.” He replies, listening to the waves crash against the sand. “It’s probably nothing important.”

“Sigmund Freud would disagree.”

“Sigmund Freud can suck my dick.” Kori shot back, crossing his arms. 

“Yeeeaaaahhh, Freud sucks!” The two of them jump to see spiky red hair sticking out of the yellow foliage.

“Awh Remy, bugger off.” Raina groans, not that her apparent annoyance stops her from scooting over to let him sit down. “Kori and I were having a serious conversation.” 

“Not really.” Kori butts in, trying to change the topic from his brain's nightly activities. “Just dream stuff.”

“Evidently, since y’all were talking about Freud. That guy’s a pretentious schmuck with an Oedipus complex, that’s like, grounds for executive punishment.” He sighs. “I can’t believe they made us read his crap.” Remy scoots down next to Raina, wincing a bit when he realizes that the grass is wet. “You got any gum?” He asks Kori. 

Kori rolls his eyes, reluctantly passing Remy the last stick he has on him. “Why do you always ask me?” He groans dramatically.

“Hey, you’re the one who makes a habit of carrying it.”

“So my breath doesn’t stink, unlike  _ someone  _ here I know.” Kori turns a stink eye to Raina, who loudly breathes in his direction, causing Kori and Remy to back off, Raina cackling in response. 

The conversation dies down after that, the three of them sitting in comfortable silence, save for Remy chewing his gum, and Raina’s occasional sniffles from her cold-induced runny nose. The sun slowly climbs higher, thin rays of sunlight warming Kori’s face, reflecting off his black eyes. 

It was shaping up to be a nice day. 

  
  


“The cafeteria’s opening in five, you know.” Remy finally says, breaking the peaceful silence. “If we hurry, we can probably get the food while it’s still hot.”

“Fair.” Raina remarks, standing up and stretching. “Although I may need to change my pants first. They’re kind of wet, and I don’t want people thinking I pissed myself.”

“Awh, son of a bitch!” Remy exclaims, looking at his pants. “These were my favorite pair of jeans!”

“Just hang them out to dry tonight.” Kori supplies as the three of them start the trek back to the campus.

“No way. Forecast calls for rain at eight.”

“Think of it as free laundry.” Raina smugly remarks. “Tonight you get to use nature’s washing machine. Tomorrow, you get to use it’s dryer.” 

“You people are horrible.” Remy huffs, walking faster so as to get ahead. Raina follows suit, but Kori stops. 

  
  


(He can feel it again.) 

  
  


“Kori?” He turns, Raina’s blue eyes fixed on him. “You coming?”

“Yeah - sorry, got distracted.” Giving the forest one last glance, he runs to catch up to the others.

  
  
  


* * *

Sure enough, by the time the three of them change pants and head back down to the cafeteria, all of the good cereal is gone, and most of the food has gone cold. Kori munches on his pathetically lukewarm scrambled eggs, watching his classmates file around him. Two months into his second year, and he’s still a people watcher. Sue him.

“So,” Remy interjects, jolting Kori out of his stupor. “Why exactly were you out, anyways?” He jabs an accusatory finger at Raina, who shrugs. 

“I like morning walks, what can I say. How about you?” She asks.

“I was leaving Cathay’s dorm.” Remy replies. 

“Ugh, gross.” Raina wrinkles her nose at the subject of Remy’s nightly trysts, and goes back to eating her cereal.    
  


“What? You asked.”

“I didn’t want to hear an answer if it involved you smashing someone.”

“Can we shut up about this now?” Kori groans, letting his head flop onto the table. “It’s too early for fornication.”

“That’s what she said-” Remy was cut off by a bagel being thrown at his head, causing him to squawk and tumble over. 

“Serves you right.” Raina smugly remarks. Remy doesn’t reply, merely pulling himself back up, face red with embarrassment. 

They eat in silence for a few minutes, Kori loudly crunching on his eggs (which were probably crispier than they should be, but whatever.) It’s only after a solid three minutes that Kori finally breaks the silence. 

“How’s your neck?” He asks Raina, who arches an eyebrow at him. “After yesterday, I mean.”

“Oh - fine,” She quickly assures. “Just a bruise. Remy can’t hit to save his life.”

“What is this, ‘Everybody Dunk On Remy Hour’?” Remy groans, angrily taking a bite of his cereal. “And besides, I’m a ranged fighter. I don’t need to know how to do like, an epic three sixty backflip if I can just blast them with fire and be done with it.”

“What if the other person can make water or something?” Raina interjects. “Then you’re screwed.”

“I mean, I can still punch them if that’s what you're wondering. I just don’t need to know all the fancy stuff. Besides,” Remy rolls his head back, gritting his teeth. “It’s not water I’m worried about, I can deal with that. It’s people who throw their teeth as throwing knives that freak me the fuck out.”

Kori doesn’t look up until he realizes that both Roy and Raina are giving him a stink eye. “...What?” He asks. 

“That’s a callout.” Raina deadpans. 

“Oh.” Kori pauses. “Well, to be fair, it is a valid fighting strategy for me.”

“It’s gross!” Remy exclaims, throwing his hands up. “It’s gross and I don’t like it!”

“Would you rather I swing my arm bones around like a club again?” Kori shoots back. “I’m pretty sure that’s grosser.”

  
“How about you maybe  _ don’t  _ do disgusting stuff?!” Remy pouts. “Just punch people like a normal person!”

“I dunno, I think that Self-Hemokinesis is kind of sick.” Raina 

“Cool or gross?” Remy asks. 

“Cool.” 

Kori leans over to whisper to Remy. “...What’s Self-Hemokinesis?” He mumbles. 

Remy shrugs. 

  
  
  


* * *

The first class, Ethics, in Kori’s opinion, is a fantastic way to start the day, mostly because Mr. Jameson is pretty absentminded, and lets Kori get away with sleeping in the back of the lecture hall, something that other teachers (cough, Ms. Dumar, cough) would never even think about. However, despite his exhaustion from his abrupt awakening that morning, Kori still couldn’t fall asleep - not even doze, and he prides himself on being able to fall asleep wherever he wants to. He has a throbbing headache, to start, but even that isn’t the main reason why he can’t sleep. 

No, it’s the lingering feeling of forgetting something. The same feeling he had back in the forest. 

It’s sort of been happening for the past few days, Kori reflects, picking at the screws in his wrists. Almost like a tugging sensation in his gut. He really wants to go back to the trees behind the school and scour the area, like a squirrel looking for a nut they buried and forgot about. 

“Mr. Saelim?” And Kori shoots up, all eyes focused on him. Mr. Jameson frowns, pointing to the large board in front of him that’s too far away for Kori to read. “Since you seem to be paying such good attention, do you mind telling us who exactly was responsible for the good morals and ethics act of 2054?” 

Kori stutters, paying. He should know this - he studied last night and everything!

  
  


But the answer evades him. 

“I don’t know sir.” He finally manages to stutter out. 

Mr. Jameson levies a harsh look at him. “Ferris Wunderchester, Mr. Saelim.” He turns back to the board, disappointment evident. “Just because you’re the top in the physical part of the curriculum, doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to be a good officer, you know.”

“I’m sorry.” Kori says. “I have a headache.”

“No excuse for a poor attitude.” And with that, Mr. Jameson goes back to droning on about something or other, Kori slowly phasing out, mind returning to that morning.

  
  


_ Warm arms slink around his shoulder- _

And Kori flinches. The dreams have been recurring ever since the school year started, becoming more and more frequent as time went on. He has no idea why the hell this keeps happening, much less what it means.

  
  


...Okay scratch that, he has a very good idea of what his brain is trying to tell him. But whatever the case is, it’s not really important right now. Kori’s studying to be a police officer. He could die at any minute, killed by people who want to throw the country and everyone in it into upheaval. That’s what he needs to be focusing on, and he doesn’t have time for anyone else. And hell, judging by his poor performance in Ethics, he couldn’t even do that. What a waste.

  
  
  
  


At around ten-ish, the class files down to the field outside, students bumping and shoving past Kori excitedly. Physical and Power Control Training is most people’s favorite class, and Kori probably would like it more if it wasn’t so early in the day. Ten thirty, in his humble opinion, is waaaaay too early to get his teeth kicked in. Twelve? A bit more reasonable. At least he wouldn’t be doing this on an empty stomach. 

  
  


“You good?” Remy leans over and whispers while Coach Hackett leads them through their warmups, the two of them jogging in place.

Kori nods. “Yeah, I’m fine. Weird morning.” He admits. “You have any Excedrin on you? If I ask the nurse again, she’ll probably think I’m saving the pills to snort them all at once like Calvin did last year.”

“Yeah, you do ask her for painkillers a lot. And no, I don’t.” They switch into stretches, Remy extending his arm so far over his head, it almost looked like it was going to come out of his socket. 

“Dammit.” Kori falls silent when the coach claps, telling everyone to pair up and start warming up with their respective powers and sparring routines. He turns to Remy, ignoring that lost feeling in his stomach from earlier. “You wanna pair up today? I’m getting kind of sick of Raina throwing me around with her barriers all the time.”

“Yeah, I can’t blame you. Sure, come on.” The two of them head down to the sparring mats, Kori stretching his lanky legs while they walked. “Though I need to ask, can you not do the teeth thing?”

“The teeth throwing knives?” When Remy nods, Kori laughs. “They grow back, don’t worry.”

“It’s just really gross.” Remy ekes out, wrinkling his nose. 

“As if me throwing my blood at you isn’t?!”

“At least I’ve gotten used to it!” The two of them assume a fighting stance, and the coach blows his whistle. A flame flickers to life over Remy’s palm, just shy of the silver ring that he always wears. Kori closes his eyes, concentrating on the cool points of metal on both of his wrists, and letting his attention flow from there to the rest of his body. He feels the blood and bone inside him pulsing with every heartbeat, hot to the touch -

  
  


Remy strikes first, a white-hot bolt of fire shooting out of his palm. Kori rolls out of the way, feeling the skin on his palm shift and break to let a steady stream of red flow out, the hole closing as quickly as it came. The blood swirls around his head like a halo, and Kori lunges then, letting it solidify into hard shards of dried blood, slamming into the mat right by Remy’s leg, who only narrowly misses it. 

“Jesus dude -” Remy doesn’t get to finish his sentence because Kori jams his elbow into Remy’s throat as hard as he can. Remy coughs, stumbling back, fire blindly flowing from his fingertips. Kori stumbles back as well, dodging the streams of heat the best he can, ready to go in for another attack -

  
  


**_F̷͈̂I̶͈͚̾̐̊̋̒N̶̦̙͔̠͔͍̺̦̖̉̏͋͋̊̃̃Ḑ̵͕̦̰̗̮̗̽̓̔ ̸̝͚͎͔͓̼̃M̶̲̲͚̻̫͐̍̉̐Ẹ̵̬͖̈́͐_ **

  
  


Kori stumbles back, head ringing with a sudden burst of dizziness, falling backwards onto the mat. His vision blurs with black spots, and there’s a nauseous feeling in his stomach that he’s forgotten something -

“Kori! Hey!” Kori blinks, vision clearing to see a concerned looking Remy looming above him, pale as a sheet. “Speak to me buddy!”

“I - I’m okay.” Kori sits up, head ringing. What the hell had just happened? “I just got lightheaded.”

“You were so pale - I thought you were having a heart attack or something!” Remy exclais, rubbing his temples. “You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Probably just a low iron thing from the crappy breakfast I had - I wouldn’t worry about it.” That, of course, wasn’t true. Kori had, in the past, used way more blood than the meager amount he had just flung at Remy, with little to no problem. And while low iron was a problem, it certainly didn’t matter that the eggs he ate this morning were kind of disgusting, so long as there was  _ something _ in them. However, Kori’s too tired to really think about this at the moment, so he stands, brushing Remy off. 

“Jeez dude,” Remy laughs nervously. “You got a screw loose or something?”

Kori gives Remy a deadpan look. 

“Sorry.” He mutters. “Bad joke.”

  
  
  


* * *

The rest of the class passes with little to no hiccups. They train for range today, some people’s abilities, such as Remy’s, are a lot better suited for long distance combat than others, like Raina’s barriers. She looks incredibly peeved by the time class is done, angrily grumbling something about how “this class is bullshit anyways.” Remy laughs at her annoyance, the two bantering, but Kori lags behind, mind still thinking about earlier.

He still felt like he’s forgetting something, but it’s not as strong of a sense of revulsion as it was before. Still, he  _ knows  _ that this isn't him. Somehow, someway, these feelings aren’t his.

But then what was it?

  
  
  


* * *

Computer Investigation and Science is the one class that Kori actually looks forward to. Sure, he doesn’t mind most of his classes, save for maybe Psychology, but Comp Inv is just genuinely fun. Kori likes messing around with computers, and Mrs. Parvinson is all too happy to let her students do that.

Today, they’re working on computer forensics, to try and parse out who used what computer by investigating the contents and data history. Kori’s put on team A, the team investigating team B. Team A is sent out into the hall, while team B each accesses a random computer. A’s job is to figure out who did what. B’s job is to not get caught.

“Hey.” Kori looks up from the floor to see Raina sliding down to sit next to him. “I saw what happened in training earlier.” She says, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “That’s not normal, right?”

Kori sighs. “...Not really.” He admits. “But my power isn’t really normal anyways. My body was probably just being weird for some reason.” 

Raina frowns. “I’ve just never seen that from you before.” She says, concern evident even in her usual dry tone. “You looked pale - like, really pale. I thought you were seizing up.”

“Well, I’m fine now.” Kori grouches. “Please just drop it, okay?”

“No, I’m not dropping it.” Raina retorts, crossing her arms. “If it’s a health thing, we need to know about it. The college needs to know, Kori. You could be hurt, and we don’t know -”

“It wasn’t a physical thing, okay?!” Kori spits out, causing a few other people to look up from their various conversations in surprise. Kori waves them off sheepishly, and quietly continues. “I mean - it wasn’t a physical thing.”

Raina arches an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” She asks.

“I mean it was a feeling.” Kori places his hand over his heart, directly where the sensation came from. “A really, really strong feeling.”

“...Like a panic attack?” Raina supplies.

“No, I - I don’t really know how to explain it.” He confesses. “It was something similar - just the overwhelming premonition that I forgot something really important.” 

“...Forgot something?” She asks. “Like what?”

“That’s the thing Rai, I don’t know!” He exclaims, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I searched my room this morning, and everything was there! It’s almost like -” _ Like it’s not coming from me _ , he almost finishes, but clamps his mouth shut, not wanting to sound like a nutcase. “...I don’t know.”

Raina frowns. “...Are you feeling okay?” She finally says.

“Just forget about it.” Kori grumbles, just in time for team A to be called in to start the exercise. 

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

In the cafeteria, Kori grabs a can of soda and scoops some gluey looking mac and cheese into a bowl. He walks over to the table that he and the others had sat at this morning, cracking open the tab and flopping down defeatedly. It was only after he had moped for a good two minutes that he noticed that Remy and Raina had also sat down, and were now intently staring at him.

“...What?” He asks. 

“Raina told me what happened.” Remy interjects, and Kori has to resit the urge to roll his non-existent eyes in annoyance. Seriously, he had no idea why they were so hung up on this - it was just making him even more nervous over something that probably wasn’t that big of a deal! “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I knew you’d make a fuss.” Kori grumbles into his macaroni.

“A fuss - who even uses that word anymore, grandmas?” 

“I think what Remy’s trying to say is that we’re worried about you.” Raina buts in. “You’ve been out of it all day.”

“Like I said, it’s probably nothing, so can you please  _ drop it. _ ” He injects as much venom into his voice as he can for the last few words, punctuating his sentence with a loud stab at his macaroni. 

Raina and Remy stare at him, but Raina finally relents, sighing. “...Fine.” She says. “But if it happens again, I’m gonna tell someone.”

Kori can only manage a weak ‘go fuck yourself’ before going back to eating. 

  
  


A small part of him curses his stalwart refusal to let the others into his strange feelings, but a stronger part of him begs him keep his trap shut. Something about the sensations he’s having feels so… personal and intimate. He doesn’t want to share it with the others because of that, and also because he has no idea how to articulate how he’s feeling into words. It’s just… strange.

Actually, if he thinks about it, this was kinda similar to what Raina described PMS as like. 

  
  


...Okay yeah, his brain is fried right now. Best just to shut up and eat his gluey mac and cheese. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

Back outside, Kori takes his opportunity of solitude lent by his free period to wander back into the forest behind the school. The forest was really the only place with an abundance of trees on Harkwell Island, the front side being mostly a huge lawn where students would hang out, and while the campus took up a large portion of the island, it was nice that they kept the forest mostly intact.

Or not, since Kori had been circling the same area for the past fifteen minutes now. He checks his watch, which reads a quarter after one. Groaning, he continues his anxious pacing. Despite the feeling pulling him towards this forest, he feels no relief from now looking around, instead the anxiety being interlaced with annoyance. If he really isn’t going nuts, then wouldn’t him looking make the sensation let up?

Kori resists the urge to shout upwards into the sky out of frustration. His search wasn’t getting him anywhere and if the mounting tension in his gut was any indication, it was just going to get worse. 

Kori’s about to turn around and head back to class when a voice stops him. 

“Hey.”

  
  


He turns around, eyes fixing on rich brown hair, dark skin a sharp contrast to the soft yellow leaves. Cathay looks up at him, green powder emanating from her long nails, plants around her curling across her legs.

Kori arches an eyebrow. “You’re… not supposed to use your powers outside of class, you know.” He remarks. 

Cathay smiles softly, but shows no signs of stopping. “I think Harkwell Academy could benefit from a bit more flora on campus, don’t you think?” She says coyly.

Kori sighs. “...I guess so.”

  
  


They’re silent for a few seconds, Kori sliding down to sit on the forest floor, back against a tree. 

  
  


“...How’s Remy?” He finally asks, trying to break the awkward silence.

“We decided that we’re better off as friends.” Cathay smoothly replies. 

“...That’s not what it sounded like last night.” Kori quietly points out.

Cathay fixes him with a pleasant smile that is somehow ten times more intimidating than a glare. “I didn’t recall asking you about that.” She says.

Kori swallows. “...Noted.” This is why he doesn’t talk to Cathay very much. She’s nice, but incredibly intimidating.

So he opts for the safe option: letting the conversation fizzle into an awkward silence.

  
  
  


And it fizzles.

  
  


Silently. 

  
  
  
  


...Kori’s just about to stand up and leave, when Cathay speaks up again.

“Are you looking for something?” She asks. 

Kori looks away sheepishly, not really wanting to get into it. “Uh - I - yeah, actually, I dropped my tablet around here, and I was just going to look for it, so I’ll see you later!” Kori stands quickly, making a beeline to leave, only for Cathay to stop him.

“Your tablet’s in your hoodie pocket.” She points out. Kori looks through his purple hoodie’s front pocket, and sure enough, his smooth tablet slides out. 

“Haha!” He awkwardly interjects. “Wow, that’s so - that’s so funny, I didn’t even notice…”

  
  


Cathay arches a thick black eyebrow, and Kori fizzles off into silence. 

  
  


“...What did you lose?” She asks. 

“See, that’s the thing.” Kori starts, not really sure why he’s confiding in her. “I have this like, gut sensation that I’m forgetting something, but I don’t know what it is.”

Cathay gives him a disbelieving look. “...Really?” She says dryly.

“I know!” Kori throws his hands up in exasperation. “And I know it sounds stupid, but it’s true! And the real kicker? The longer I spend looking for this thing, the more anxious and wired I get.” He kicks at the pebbles under his feet, scowling. “I think I’m just overthinking it.”

Cathay frowns. “That does sound like a conundrum.” She remarks, standing up and brushing her skirt off. “...Perhaps it’s not a physical thing?”

Kori raises an eyebrow. “Huh?” 

“I mean it could be an emotional problem.” Cathay points out. “From what it sounds like, whatever it is you’re looking for doesn’t seem to be tangible.” Kori wants to doubt that, but it makes sense. “Maybe you’re just looking for something you’ve emotionally forgotten or repressed?” 

“...What?” Now she was just busting out the psychologist terms on him.

“I think you’re emotionally constipated.” Cathay sums up bluntly. “And whatever it is you’re looking for, it’s not something you’re just gonna find. If you ask me it sounds like you’re angsting”

“...Angsting?” Wow, rude. And also completely untrue.

  
  


...Okay,  _ maybe  _ that was kind of a fair assessment, but A, Cathay and him have only spoken a few times, there was no way she got such a good read on him from that - either that or she’s psychic or something, and B, he’s still fairly sure the feelings aren’t his. But he can’t find a way to tell her that without sounding like a total nutjob. “...No, I don’t think that’s it either.”

Cathay gives him one last long look, eyes unreadable, but almost pitying, before going back to watering her plants. “Okay.” She says. “I’m just putting it out there.”

He checks his watch again. One thirty-seven. Class started at forty five, meaning he should probably go get his stuff. “...Thanks anyways.” He says, turning back to the campus.

Cathay only nods, no longer paying attention.

  
  
  


_ … Remy has a weird taste in women. _

  
  
  
  
  


* * *

“You taking my advice?” 

Remy jerks up from hanging his clothing outside his dorm, Kori leaning on the doorframe. He laughs awkwardly. “Yeah - I checked online, and rain is a valid way to wash clothes. I’m trying to pay the school laundromat as little as possible.”

“Mhm.” Rain-smelling clothes doesn’t sound like the most pleasant thing in the world, but who the hell is Kori to judge. “You can probably dry these in the morning with a hair dryer.” He points out, hopping onto the balcony railing, feet dangling off the side. 

“Eh. That would take too long.” Remy finishes hanging up his last shirt, and leans back against the sliding glass door separating Remy’s tornado of a room and the outdoors. The balcony overlooks the forest, and Kori once again has to shove the feelings from earlier down into the back of his mind. He instead turns his eyes to the cloudy night sky, and the ocean below it. In the distance, he can see the outline of Makridge city, the skyscrapers cut off by the peals of fog.

Kori can smell the rain.

“Nice view.” Remy remarks. 

Kori nods. “Yeah, I guess.” He wishes it wasn’t so cloudy. Then, he could see the stars. “The city’s so bright, even from here.”

“Mhm.” Remy sounds contemplative, and Kori’s almost tempted to ask him if he’s okay. But this is Remy Kori’s talking about. Remy’s fine, he assures himself. He’s a chill guy. What’s he got to be upset about?

“Sorry about earlier.” 

Kori looks up to see Remy leaning off the balcony. “What for?” Kori asks. 

“For badgering you about phys ed.” He confesses, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or something.”

“Nah, you’re good.” Kori assures him. “I just had a moment, it happens.”

“...Like PMS?” 

“Exactly!” The two of them burst into uncomfortable laughter, turning genuine when they both cringe at what they just said.

  
  


And at that moment, Kori can fool himself into thinking that everything will be okay.

  
  
  
  


But later, lying in his own bed, the gnawing feeling in his gut rears its ugly head. Kori tosses and turns, sheets soaked with sweat, trying and failing to get the pounding ache out of his mind.

  
  


Kori fitfully turns on his side, closing his eyes. God, he just wants this to stop. He’s so tired of every waking moment being plagued by this  _ uneasiness _ , this  _ want  _ for something he doesn’t even understand. What was wrong with him?!

  
  
  


When he opens his eyes again, a large moon and a soft voice greet him, whispering in his ear. 

And he just lets it happen.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	3. 2 - unease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It's a bit early to be walking, don't you think?"

When Kori wakes, his dorm room is dark. He sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, drowsily running his hands through his hair in a futile attempt to tame his bedhead.

_I had the nightmare again._

Inwardly groaning, Kori stands, stretching. It’s no use trying to go back to sleep now, and even if he did, he’d just end up having another nightmare.

... _Was_ it a nightmare though? The dreams were odd, sure, but he couldn’t really say they scared him, or not in the usual way a nightmare does. They were just… unnerving. Eerie in their repetition.

The anxious feeling from yesterday still lingers in his gut, and Kori grumbles to himself. He thought he could just sleep this off, but apparently the universe just loved to make him feel like shit. Fun times.

There’s a steady pitter-patter coming from the outside, and Kori opens the sliding glass door that separates his room from the balcony. Sure enough, it’s raining outside, fat raindrops rolling down the glass.

Kori looks to his left, seeing Remy’s laundry fluttering in the wind, sopping wet. Nature’s washing machine indeed.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The normally crowded campus paths are kind of peaceful when no one’s there, Kori observes from under his umbrella. The sunrise, beaming weakly through the clouds, does little to alleviate the chill, but Kori pays it no mind. He’s always been a bit of a winter person.

“It’s a bit early to be walking, don’t you think?”

  
  


Kori jumps, turning to see a white umbrella turn around the corner, a tall woman under it. Ms. Dumar leans out, eyes obscured by her thick glasses.

Kori exhales. “You scared me.” He admits, letting her catch up to him. 

The corners of Ms. Dumar’s lips quirk upward into a smile. “So it would seem. And you didn’t answer my question.” She retorts. 

He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, tilting his umbrella so as to let the water drip off the side. “Can’t a guy just go on a walk because he feels like it?” He asks.

“I hardly know any twenty year olds who would get up before eight.” She remarks, the two of them turning a corner. “And it’s… five forty? Much too early.”

“You got me there.” God, he can never get a read on this lady. She speaks so casually with everyone, you’d think she was super chill, only to, in that same infuriatingly calm tone of voice, bring the hammer down with some excruciatingly difficult assignments in her class. Not to mention, Kori couldn’t really tell if she liked him or not. “Are you always up this early?”

“I just have to set some things up.” She replies. “What about you?”

“...No reason in particular.”

“Sleep problems?” Kori turns to see Ms. Dumar smiling at him. “Have you tried using lavender oil on your wrists before you go to sleep? I find it helps.”

“...I can’t really do that, ma’am.”

She looks down at his hands, and then back up. “My apologies. How about tea?”

“I thought you hated herbal remedies, what, with that ten minute long tangent about them in class the other day.”

“No, I hate when people claim that they’re a valid substitute for modern medicine. There’s only so much lavender and sage can do before you need to get vaccinated.”

Kori nods. “Fair.” 

  
  


The conversation falls into silence. Kori briefly considers telling Ms. Dumar about the dreams he’s been having, not to mention the pervasive feeling of oh-shit-I-forgot-something. But something tells him to hold this close to his chest. Ms. Dumar’s friendly, but still a professor, and they’re not exactly the type of people you share your feelings with. That was more of an actual friend thing.

  
  


The two of them round a corner, leading them to the door of the west wing. “Well, I’ll be off then.” She says, closing her white umbrella and sticking it in the umbrella holder, sheltered from the rain outside. “I’ll see you in my class, Kori.”

Kori manages a wave, and watches Ms. Dumar leave, heels clicking behind her.

He doesn’t move for a minute, water dripping down from his umbrella and onto his arm. 

He’s cold.

  
  


“God.” He mutters, turning back to the dorm. What the hell was he doing, anyways? This isn’t normal, and he knows that it isn’t, but at the very least, he wants to feel like an actual person instead of a zombie shambling through conversations and schoolwork. 

This sucks.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Wow, you actually got here before us. Color me impressed.” Raina sets down her bowl of cold oatmeal next to Kori, who is facedown on the table for the second breakfast in a row. “How’re you feeling?”

“...Bad.” Kori groans. 

“Mood.” Raina and Remy say at the same time.

“Not helping.” Kori grumbles.

  
  


There’s a moment of silence.

  
  


“Soo…” Remy starts. “You wanna like, talk about it, or-”

“Just - I’d like to talk about something else? Anything else. Something stupid, I’m not in the mood for this. It’s too early.” 

Remy needs no more incentive, and he launches into a conversation about a conversation he had with Calvin the other day, which somehow transforms into a conversation about the death of the skater community. Kori half listens, picking at his eggs that have now gone cold. Great, the one day he gets hot eggs and he’s not even gonna eat them. Ironic. Or was that irony? That felt like a misuse of the word.

“-Kori?” Kori jolts out of his grammatical stewing, Remy poking his shoulder. 

“Y-Yeah?” He stutters. “Sorry, just got stuck in my own head.”

“...I was just gonna ask if you were ever a part of the sneaker scene.” Remy says. 

“...Why would you ask me that?”

“You dress like you used to be part of it-”

“Aaaaaand I’m officially going back to ignoring you.” Raina snorts into her oatmeal, Remy snickering at that. Kori’s ears go red, but he smiles a little bit. He may not have known Raina and Remy for very long, but he likes them a lot. They’re certainly never a boring duo.

“I forgot to ask - were you out this morning?” Raina asks. “I saw you walk by my dorm at like, six.”

“Why were _you_ up?” Kori retorts, jaw sticking out.

“I told you, I’m an early riser. And _you_ didn’t answer my question.” Ms. Dumar’s smug smile comes to mind, and Kori shoves the memory of their conversation into the back of his head, saving that for three in the morning when he’s thinking of all the embarrassing stuff he's ever done.

“I couldn’t sleep.” He says.

“That seems to be an ongoing pattern with you.” Remy remarks through a mouthful of food. Kori glares at him, and he swallows. “Just saying.”

“Piss off.” Remy takes the hint, going back to bantering about whatever he was talking about before, and Kori goes back to poking at his eggs lifelessly. It had kind of gotten to the point where he was sort of past the stage of being freaked out by this and now has entered the annoyance stage. It’s like the five stages of grief 2, except he’s not grieving, he’s just anxious about something in particular. The five stages of an anxiety bout? No, that sounded dumb.

“We have a paper due today in Ethics, you know.” Raina interjects, cutting through Remy’s rambling. Remy and Kori groan, and she smiles smugly. “We’ve got like, thirty minutes before class starts. You wanna copy off of mine?”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Remy dramatically sobs, grabbing onto Raina’s arm, much to the other’s chagrin. “I owe you my life.”

“Don’t touch me, dumbass.” Raina pulls out her tablet, and Kori buises himself with trying the phrase what Raina said in his own words, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind. He was becoming quite good at that.

* * *

  
  
  


(Mr. Jameson gives Kori and Remy a critical look when they hand in their essays, but says nothing of it. Kori and Remy high five after class is over.)

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


“So.” Raina’s leg sweeps under Kori, who jolts back to avoid it, trying not to stumble off of his mat and onto some other poor fool, PE field alive with activity. “Any new tactics you’re trying out?”

“It’s hand-to-hand combat day Raina, we’re not even doing that.” Kori feints left, then jabs his right hook into Raina’s arm, who stumbles back, wincing. 

“So that’s Kori speak for no?” Raina remarks. 

“Shut up.” As if to emphasize his annoyance, Kori jabs his elbow into Raina’s throat, and she goes down long enough for him to pin her and hold her for five seconds. “I win.” He says smugly.

“That was only because I was distracted. You know I’m the best here at hand-to-hand.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Kori and Raina turn to see Calvin, stretching on the mat, brown hair slicked back.. “He’s been doing a lot better from what I’ve seen.” He remarks, sending finger guns Kori’s way, who promptly ignores him.

“I don’t recall including you in this conversation.” Raina huffs, turning back to face Kori. Calvin shrugs, jogging over to go talk to an unamused Samantha. “What a tool.” She mumbles. 

“I dunno. He seems okay to me.” 

“You’re just saying that because you liked that he was flirting with you.”

Kori’s ears turn red, and he scratches at the metal on his wrists. “That - that wasn’t flirting.”

“No, finger guns do fall into the flirting category.” Remy sidles over to sit down, Cathay apparently annoyed at being left to her own devices to train. “I would know, I use them all the time.”

“I bet it gets you all the ladies, huh?” Raina remarks sarcastically.

“I - uh - well, at least they think it’s endearing.”

“NO IT ISN’T!” Cathay shouts from across the field, Raina and Kori bursting into laughter. 

“Oh my god,” Kori laughs, doubling over. “Cathay, you -”

  
  


Kori’s wiping the tears from his eyes when his stomach goes cold again, the world dropping out from underneath his feet. He sways, vertigo suddenly taking over his entire body. He’s vaguely aware of the conversation being continued without him, and his hands start to feel very fuzzy, as if he’s drifting away from his own body. 

He tries to say something, anything, a small squeak escaping his mouth. It’s as if someone’s plunged red-hot claws into his chest, and is tearing at him from the inside out.

It _burns_.

  
  


“-Kori?” He manages to look up, Raina’s voice murky in the fog of his own head. “You okay? You’re looking really sweaty.”

“I - yeah, I’m fine. Just got a bit - overheated -” He furiously wills for the burning in his gut to just shut off like it did before, but to no avail. If anything, the heat rises, clouding his mind like some kind of drug. He really wants to fall over right now, fall over and just lie in the grass and let the flame die, like a candle reaching the end of its wick.

  
  


**_̵̡̖͔͂F̷̧̢̳̹͑i̸͚̜̿͠n̴̨̨͚̪͗͑̋͒d̶̨̝̐̈͒ ̶̰͚͓͎̀̂̑ḥ̵̥̩̽͒ĩ̷͚͍͑͂̒m̷͍͍̹͈̞̆.̶̡̦̬̠̱̅̾_ **

**_̸̜̪̘̟̺̊_ **

**_̵̗̞̙͍̼͘F̸̥͚͗̌̆͒͝i̴̮̔n̶̖͉̳̔͆̚ď̸̫̱͙͜ ̴̅̑̈͜h̷͖̣̿̍͝ͅͅi̸̛͖̓m̶̝̭͋͋̎̓͝.̶̝͈̟̩͕̓͋̈́_ **

  
  
  


_Shut up!_ He yells at himself, biting on his nail so if only to stop grinding his teeth so much. The air seems to shimmer with heat waves, and -

  
  
  


-And if he strains his ears, he can almost hear someone speaking.

  
  


Saying something.

_Begging_ for something.

  
  


For help.

  
  
  


“Kori-?” Remy is shoved abruptly to the side, Kori standing up, sweat pooling up under his thick jacket. He starts to scamper towards the edge of the field, only to trip on something, realizing that someone had caught his foot. Cathay looks up at him, brown eyes wide with fear and concern.

“Are you okay?” She asks. “Do - Kori, do you need me to get the nurse?”

  
  


“I -” He knows what he needs is to probably lie down and just let the burning subside, but he can’t anymore. It’s killing him. “I have to go!”

He wrenches his foot out of her grasp, and vaults over the fence, ignoring everyone’s protests behind him.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Where was he going? What was he looking for? Kori doesn’t know, stumbling around the forest until he almost slams into the school border fence, jerking back only when he can feel his hairs standing on end thanks to the electric current. He is where he was yesterday morning, rain soaking the leaves and trees. “I -” Kori coughs into his hand, head spinning from the heat and maybe also exhaustion. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” He screams into the air, trying to beat back the tirade of emotion that he somehow knew isn’t his - 

_Look. Look. Find him._ His brain chants, and Kori stumbles around the forest floor, frantically scanning for something, to get this to stop -

He trips, feet catching on something on the ground. Kori falls face first, head smashing into the dirt with a ringing sensation.

He lays there for a second, vision blurry. Slowly, he forces himself up, turning to see what his foot got stuck on -

It wasn’t a root.

  
  


No, it was a handle.

  
  


Kori frowns, confusion bubbling to the surface of his turbulent mind. What the hell is this? He thinks, grasping the handle. It’s old and rusty, and vines encircle it. If it wasn’t for the rust turning it turquoise, Kori would have never noticed it, it blended into the ground too much. 

  
  


But then - he notices something else. Glimpses of copper, peeking out from underneath the thick brush. 

  
  


Kori tears vines from the ground, brushing past roots and dirt - and sure enough, there’s another handle. Connected to some kind of cellar door. 

The chaos in his head silences quickly, replaced with the overwhelming premonition to open the door. 

  
  


Kori doesn’t know what’s down there. For all he knows, it could be a trick of some sort. A trap, to lure him to his death. 

  
  
  


He rips the door open anyways, old hinges coming off of the handle. 

  
  
  
  


A dark staircase awaits him, descending into a shadowy tunnel. Kori ducks inside, the place smelling of mildew and dirt. The walls are made of concrete, long since dusted over with grime and filth, broken light bulbs above his head most likely contributing to the glass on the floor.

(there’s no dust on the ground though)

The stairs keep descending, and Kori keeps walking, the pit in his stomach growing wider and wider, a familiar anxiety that he could safely say is all his. He has no idea what awaits him down here - what he could find. Hell, no one knew where he was! He could get stuck down here and starve!

  
  


Kori’s so busy freaking out, that he doesn’t notice there’s a door in front of him, until he runs into it. Head spinning, he backs up, once again seeing a large and rusted iron door in front of him. Behind it, if he strains himself, he can hear a faint beeping sound every now and then. Like a heart monitor of some kind.

“...Hello?” Kori shouts, hopefully loud enough for whoever’s on the other side to hear him. “Is anyone there?”

  
  


There’s no response. 

  
  


“Hello?”

  
  


Still nothing.

  
  


“I’m coming in.” At the sound of silence, Kori once again rips the door open, stumbling forward into another room -

  
  
  


He stops. 

  
  
  


There is a heart monitor, just like he thought, beeping away like clockwork. Small screens paint the small room in a dim light, blue flooding across Kori’s face.

  
  


And the face of a boy, asleep in a hospital bed.

  
  
  


Kori blinks, trying to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, but sure enough, here it was. There is a boy asleep in the hospital bed, breathing soundly to the tune of the heart monitor, like a guitar to a drum’s steady beat. His hair’s a soft shade of green, and his skin is pale - so pale, that it looks white.

  
  


(He looks like a marble statue. Not quite alive.)

  
  


Kori takes another tentative step forward, so absorbed in the person in front of him that he once again trips, knocking over a few of the machines next to him. Looking up, he can see that it was one of the IV’s tubes that he tripped over, having ripped it clean out of the boy’s arm, and is now leaking clear fluid onto the floor now. Kori blanches, freaking out -

  
  
  


The heart monitor jumps, percussion now irregular. 

  
  
  
  


And the boy opens his eyes.

  
  
  
  


Ringed green eyes meet solid black ones.

  
  


The boy smiles. 

  
  
  


“Hello.” He says softly. 

  
  
  
  


The two screws in his forehead glint in the reflection of the light.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The same screws Kori has in his wrists. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	4. 3 - meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kori’s breath catches in his throat. He can’t breathe, mind swirling with panic and confusion.
> 
> He has screws in his head - just like me -but that doesn’t make any sense, why on earth would we both have screws? What is he doing down here? Why is he down here?
> 
> “Unhappy.”
> 
> Kori jolts backwards, on guard. The boy’s ringed green eyes bore into his skull, studying him, as if he was a butterfly caught under a pin. “Are you unhappy about this?”
> 
> “I -” Kori swallowed. “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the break, I was on holiday! I was also gonna upload this sooner but AO3 went all wacky on me last night because the block men fans went feral last night or something

Kori’s breath catches in his throat. He can’t breathe, mind swirling with panic and confusion.

He has screws in his head - just like me -but that doesn’t make any sense, why on earth would we both have screws? What is he doing down here? Why is he down here?

  
  


“Unhappy.”

  
  


Kori jolts backwards, on guard. The boy’s ringed green eyes bore into his skull, studying him, as if he was a butterfly caught under a pin. “Are you unhappy about this?”

“I -” Kori swallowed. “What?”

“It’s different than just unhappiness though,” The stranger mumbles to himself, oblivious to Kori staring at him, slack-jawed. “A different flavor.” He snaps his finger, as if realizing something. “Confusion! That’s what it is.”

“Um…” Kori blinks, looking from the boy’s face, to the machines that had been hooked up to his arm. “What are you doing down here?”

  
  


The boy doesn’t move, still staring at Kori, face as smooth as marble. Kori waves his hand in front of the boy’s face, trying to get his attention. “Hello?” He says. “You in there?”

“It’s fading.” 

“Huh?!” Okay, obviously this guy is still hopped up on whatever was in those tubes. 

“The confusion.” The boy finally breaks eye contact, blinking. “Now it’s sharper.”

“I -” Well, he is less confused and more now flustered and slightly annoyed. “I asked why you’re down here.” He repeats, slightly sharper now. 

“Oh.” The boy sits up straighter. “My apologies. The fluctuation in your emotions just surprised me.”

“I - wait, my emotions?” Kori cautiously approaches the hospital bed, like how one would approach a wounded animal. The boy still doesn’t move, still as a statue. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“They’re very strong.” He says matter-of-factly. “You must be very stressed.”   
  
“Wait -” Hold on. Hold up. “You can… feel what I’m feeling?”

The boy nods. 

“...Are you serious?” When the boy nods again, Kori takes a step back. 

“What’s wrong?” The boy asks, tilting his head in a cat-like fashion. 

“It’s just - that’s not possible.” That didn’t make any sense. Their powers - everyone’s powers - they made sense, they obeyed the laws of physics, in a way. Remy could manipulate fire by manipulating the temperature and density of the air around him. Raina could create barriers because she can reposition the atoms around her. Cathay makes plants grow fast because she can speed up the cellular reproduction. The powers themselves seem nonsensical, but made sense when looked upon with a critical eye. With a scientific eye.

Except for his powers. There was no scientific explanation for controlling blood. He was always the anomaly. 

And now this boy. 

(And they both have screws.)

  
  


Kori shakes his head, jolting himself out of his stupor. “What am I feeling right now?” He frantically asks, trying to see if his theory was true. 

“Panic.” The boy replies simply. “Was it something I said?” 

“No - I -” But that was right. But he was freaking out. “Shit.” Kori forces himself back to reality, turning to face the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Jikan.” He replies.

“Ji...kan?” That doesn’t sound like a name, but whatever. “Okay.” Kori assesses the room, eyes flitting from one machine to the next. It looks like standard hospital equipment, like one that you could use to monitor a comatose patient. His eyes flit back to the leaking IV tube, not entirely sure what’s in it. “...Why are you down here?” Kori asks. 

Jikan blinks. “Why am I down here?” He parrots uncannily. 

“Yeah.”

  
  


Jikan frowns, head tilting backwards in thought.

  
  


“...I don’t know.” He says finally.

Now it’s Kori’s turn to stand still. 

“I don’t remember.” Jikan says calmly, as if he is talking about the weather, and not about waking up in a hospital room six feet underground. 

“...How you got in here?” Kori tentatively asks. 

Jikan looks up, wide eyes unblinking. 

“No.” He says simply. “I don’t remember anything.”

  
  
  
  


Kori stands in stunned silence, eyebrows crinkled upwards in shock. 

  
  


“...Why are you scared?” Jikan finally asks. “You are not in any danger.”

“I - not for me.”  _ For you, dumbass, _ he wants to finish, but doesn’t. “You don’t remember  _ anything _ ?” He asks again.

Jikan nods.

“Then - how can you like, talk and stuff?”

Jikan’s head lolls back again in thought. 

“...I just can.” He says simply. 

“That doesn’t -” Kori’s cut off by shouting above him, both of their heads darting up to look at the ceiling. Someone’s calling for him, and he can hear footsteps, steadily coming closer. “Fuck.” He curses. How the hell was he going to explain this to everyone?!

Footsteps clatter on the stairs, and Jikan’s eyes turn to face the door. “Someone is coming.” He says.

“No shit.” Kori shifts to stand in front of Jikan, just in time for Remy to enter through the doorway. 

“Thank god!” He exhales. “When you ran off, you had me worried sick -” Remy stops, dropping his bag, hazel eyes locking onto ringed green. “...What the fuck?!” He exclaims. 

“Hello.” Jikan greets him with a wave. “Why are you angry with me?”

  
“I - what are you talking about?” Remy turns to face Kori, accusations written all over his face. “Kori, what the hell is he talking about?”

“He can read our emotions.” Kori starts, but is cut off by Raina and Cathay barging in, both skidding to a halt when they see Jikan.

“He can  _ what  _ now?!” Remy exclaims. 

“Kori, what’s going on?” Cathay asks, concern leaking into her voice. “Who is this?” 

“My name is Jikan.” Jikan says again. “Hello.”

Remy waves, but Cathay smacks his arm down. “Kori, what’s going on?” She repeats. 

“I just found him.” Kori replies, taking a step backwards, wary from all the questions being thrown at him at once. 

“What do you mean?” Raina asks. 

“I mean -” Kori sighs. “...Okay, I haven’t been completely honest with you these past few days.”

“No kidding, you’ve been acting super weird.” Remy remarks. Raina flicks the back of his head, and he shuts up.

Kori quickly explains the situation. The strange sensations he had been having, the urges to go searching in this area, the panic, and how he had tripped and fallen onto the cellar door. He left out the part about his dreams though, as he still wasn’t sure they were related. 

When he was finished, Cathay frowns, brow wrinkling in thought. “And this all happened within three days?” She asks. 

  
“...Yeah.” Kori admits. 

“That’s a pretty small window of time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Okay!” Remy shoves between the two of them, mildly frantic. “Putting that aside, I think we should probably include Jikan here in the conversation?!”

All heads turn towards the green-haired boy, who was picking at his nails. “...Oh, were you asking me?” He replies nonchalantly. “Sorry, the conversation seems very intense. I don’t know any of you, so I figured it would not be my place to pry.”

“Huh?” Remy exclaims.

“I didn’t want to be rude.” Jikan simplifies. 

“Ooooooh. Got it.” Remy looks around, before looking back at Jikan. “And you don’t know how you got down here?” 

“No.”

“Huh.”

“If I can say something,” Raina buts in. “I think we should go find a teacher.”

“What can they do about this?” Kori exclaims. 

“I don’t know, but probably more then us.” Raina retorts, crossing her arms. “And besides, were you planning on keeping Jikan stuck down here?”

“I - well no, but -”

“Then we have no other options. Remy, Cathay, let’s go. Kori, you stay down here and make sure nothing happens.” The three of them turn to exit the room, an old lightbulb above them flickering with every step they take. Eventually, the sound of them walking fades into the distance, and Kori turns to look at Jikan, who is still staring at him. He hasn’t even blinked.

“...Do you… need something?” Kori awkwardly asks. 

“You don’t look like what I expected you to.” Jikan replies smoothly. 

“Huh?” Kori has no idea what the hell that’s supposed to mean.

“You were so panicked. I didn’t expect someone with that much anxiety to be so…” Jikan trails off, scanning Kori from head to toe. “...Tall.”

“I - hold on.” Kori remarks, indignation coloring his voice. “I’m six three. I’m not that tall. You’re just short.”

“Well, I am sitting down.” Jikan points out. “Perhaps if I stand -” He makes a motion to stand, feet sliding off the bed, only to wobble, and nearly fall. Jikan catches himself on the railing just in time, Kori flinching at his sudden movement. “...It would seem my legs are too weak for that.” Jikan states.

“...Yeah,” Kori mutters, adrenaline fading from his gut. “No kidding.” 

God, he wants to laugh. This situation was so bizarre - what the hell was this guy even doing down here?! And why were they talking about something as trivial as height at a time like this -?!

Wait. Hold on. Rewind.

_ “You were so panicked. I didn’t expect someone with that much anxiety to be so…” _

Hold up. 

“Were you… causing this?” 

Jikan looks up to see Kori gesturing at himself. “What do you mean?” He asks. 

“All of the weirdness I’ve been feeling.” Kori replies, black eyes cast downward. “Like I… forgot something. Like I had to come and find you.”

“...Perhaps.” Jikan replies smoothly. “I was asleep. Maybe I did it unconsciously.” 

“But - you just feel what I’m feeling. You can’t control it - right?”

Jikan closes his eyes, tiny nose crinkled up in concentration. If not for the situation, Kori might have laughed at how absurd Jikan looks. “...No.” Jikan says after a solid one hundred and thirteen seconds. 

“Nothing?”

“I can feel your emotions, but I can’t do anything to them. Unless - do you feel any different?”

“...Not really.” Kori rubs the back of his head awkwardly, kicking at the ground. 

“I thought as much. I would have been able to tell.” 

“Mhm.”

  
  


More awkward silence. God, that was just becoming a thing now, isn’t it. 

  
  


Eventually, footsteps echo over their heads. Jikan’s eyes flit up, a flash of nervousness blinking across his face. 

“I think it’s the professors.” Kori reassures. 

“I think so too.” Jikan cooly replies, but the tint of nervousness doesn’t leave his eyes. 

Sure enough, Ms. Dumar enters, followed by Remy, Raina, and Cathay. “What is the meaning of this?” She exclaims, before her eyes lock with Jikans. “And who are you?” She asks.

Jikan doesn’t respond, eyes downcast. 

“His name is Jikan.” Kori quickly butts in. “I found him down here.” 

“Can you walk?” Ms. Dumar interrupts, shoving past Kori. Jikan shakes his head. “Here. Lean on my shoulder, we’re going outside.”

Jikan wordlessly complies, limping out of the bed and wobbling across the floor. Ms. Dumar catches him, hoisting him up. Together, they finagle their way out, the four of them close behind.

  
  


Outside, the rest of the faculty awaits, all eyes locked onto Jikan. One of them takes his arm, roughly pulling him away from Kori. Kori wants to protest, but shuts his mouth. He’s just as confused as everyone else. 

“Let’s take him up to the nurses office.” Ms. Dumar says, dark eyes flitting towards Kori for a brief second. “I’ll notify the authorities.” 

Kori exhales, watching as Jikan is pulled towards the building. They briefly lock eyes, green meeting black. Jikan’s eyes, in a moment so brief Kori almost misses it, are downcast, hollowed out. As if this was a fate he couldn’t avoid. 

He turns, sun catching on the screws in his head, and is pulled through the trees, underbrush swallowing him, Kori left standing in silence next to the others. 

No one says a word. 

“...I think we should go back to the dorms.” Cathay finally says. 

Kori wordlessly complies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	5. 4 - inquiry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ms. Dumar, hair tied back, emerges, holding a clipboard. Behind her, the nurse, Mrs. Portman, walks out as well, looking thourghly exhausted. The two of them glance at each other, before Mrs. Portman turns, heading down the hallway. Ms. Dumar swivels back, dark eyes narrowed. 
> 
> “Kori Saelim.” 
> 
> Kori stands, back ramrod straight. 
> 
> “I need to speak with you.” She gestures down the hallway to a lecture room that’s not currently being used. Kori swallows, following, the door shutting behind him sounding like the toll of a bell signaling his doom.

The chairs outside of the nurse’s office are hard, despite the flimsy cushions on them. Kori’s backside hurts, wincing with his every nervous fidget. But he can’t help it. 

It’s been a few hours since Jikan was discovered. And since that time, a helicopter has flown into the island, official-looking men in suits showing up to talk to the administration. Everyone else was sent back to their dorm rooms, campus in a state of confusion and chaos. Kori, however, was asked to stay, as were Remy, Raina, and Cathay, the only other witnesses to what had happened. 

And now, the four of them sit outside the nurse’s office where Jikan is being kept, nervously awaiting whatever news they’re going to get. No one has spoken since they’ve gotten back, and Kori bites the inside of his cheek so hard it bleeds, the familiar copper taste momentarily distracting him from his turning stomach.

“...What do you think they’re doing to him?” Cathay finally says after what feels like an eternity. 

“It’s none of our business.” Raina replies dismissively, flipping through one of her textbooks. 

“I mean… it kind of is.” Cathay retorts, crossing her arms. “We found him, right? Shouldn’t we try and make sure that they’re not doing anything harmful?” 

“They wouldn’t do that to Jikan.” Kori interjects, but he isn’t quite sure. At the very least, he could see them trying to remove the screws in his head, and Kori knew firsthand how badly that would go, the phantom pain of a pair of pliers melting into his skin. 

Cathay looks away at that, unconvinced. 

So they go back to sitting in silence, Remy’s bouncing leg squeaking each time his sneaker the floor. 

‘Squeak squeak.’

_ I don’t get it,  _ Kori thinks to himself, brow furrowing in thought.  _ Why was he even down there? And more than that, how did he survive that long? The place was clearly pretty old.  _

‘Squeak squeak.’

_ And what’s more, if he has no memory, how can he even speak?  _ Another voice in the back of Kori’s head points out.  _ How does he know stuff like height and being rude to people? That doesn’t make any sense.  _

‘Squeak squeak.’

_ Maybe all of his personal memories were erased, but the basic human ones were kept?  _ He wonders.  _ It would explain how advanced he was acting. _

‘Squeak squeak.’

_ But how would that even have - _

“CAN YOU CUT THAT SQUEAKING OUT?!” Raina shouts suddenly, Remy squawking and falling back in his chair. 

“Jesus!” Remy complains, sprawled out on the floor. “Give a guy a warning next time!”

“Then stop making that sound!” Raina retorts. 

“I’m nervous Raina, I can’t help that my leg does that when I’m nervous!”

“Maybe I should -”

The door behind them opens, and all of them freeze. 

Ms. Dumar, hair tied back, emerges, holding a clipboard. Behind her, the nurse, Mrs. Portman, walks out as well, looking thourghly exhausted. The two of them glance at each other, before Mrs. Portman turns, heading down the hallway. Ms. Dumar swivels back, dark eyes narrowed. 

“Kori Saelim.” 

Kori stands, back ramrod straight. 

“I need to speak with you.” She gestures down the hallway to a lecture room that’s not currently being used. Kori swallows, following, the door shutting behind him sounding like the toll of a  bell signaling his doom. 

The room is empty, shadows cast long in the late afternoon sun. Their footsteps echo in between the empty seats, Ms. Dumar leading him up to the front of the room, sitting at the desk seated in the middle, next to the lectern.

“So,” she starts, but Kori cuts her off.

“Am I in trouble?” He blurts out. “Because I swear that this was all an accident, I had no idea he was down there.” 

Ms. Dumar blinks. 

“I - no,” she coughs, trying to regain her composure. “You’re not in trouble.”

Kori exhales. 

“ _ But _ ,” she begins, and he stiffens. “I do need to ask you some questions.” 

Right, yeah. That made sense. 

Kori begins with the weird premonitions he had been having the whole week, the strange and tight anxious heat plaguing him everywhere he went. The feeling as if he had forgotten something, as if every step he took, someone was following close behind. How the alien feelings had reached a crescendo during phys ed that morning, and how he had stumbled upon the cellar on accident while he was fumbling around, and how he had broken it open and found Jikan below. Again, he leaves out his dreams. He still isn’t sure if they’re related. 

“Interesting.” Ms. Dumar remarks when he finishes, gaze thoughtful. “Very interesting.” 

“...Ma’am?” Kori sheepishly says. 

“And you say he can read emotions?” She asks.

“Yeah,” Kori replies. “I dunno how, but -”

“And you’re  _ positive _ .”

“...Yes. You can ask him yourself.”

“We already did that,” Ms. Dumar starts. “He told us the same thing that you did, and he somewhat proved it to us. We just wanted to confirm it with you.” 

“Oh,” Kori says, before perking up. “But that’s not possible, is it?” 

“...Hypothetically speaking, no,” Ms. Dumar starts. “There is no sort of scientific explanation for what he can do. If he could read heat signatures, that would be one thing, but the acute sensation of exact emotions has no basis in logic and reality.”

“Like mine,” Kori mutters under his breath. 

“Precisely,” Ms. Dumar replies. “We checked his body, and there are no signs of anything extraordinary going on. No abnormal cell growth, or overactive brain structure - he simply has a regular body, just like you and me. And yet, he can do what he does.” She turns back to him. “Just like you.” 

Kori doesn’t respond, mind racing. His body is like that too - completely normal, with no signs of weirdness or different structure. He had figured he was just some kind of scientific anomaly - but now, Jikan was here. And he’s the same as him. 

“...Ma’am,” he starts. “Did you… did you look at the screws?” 

Ms. Dumar blinks at him. “What screws?” 

Kori’s taken aback by this. “...The ones in his head?” He retorts.

“We didn’t see any sign of anything in him,” Ms. Dumar replies.

“What do you - you know, like mine?” 

“Like yours?”

Kori extends his wrists, screws glinting in the dim light. “Like mine.”

Ms. Dumar looks down, eyes narrowing. “Kori, I don’t see anything. Your wrists are completely normal.”

Kori blinks, looking down at the metal embedded in his skin. It’s definitely there, sticking out like a sore thumb.

But when had anyone ever mentioned it?

When had anyone ever asked?

“Are you feeling alright?”

Kori looks up, and does what he does best. He backtracks. 

“Y - yeah, I’m good. That - they’re gone. I think Jikan may have messed with my mind.”

Ms. Dumar nods. “That is entirely possible.”

_ Shit. Fuck.  _ “Do you think I can talk to him?”

Ms. Dumar nods. “I need to speak with the rest of the witnesses anyways.” They stand, heading back towards the entrance.

Despite the fact that the room is empty, Kori can still feel eyes on the back of his neck. 

* * *

  
  
  
  


“Oh, you’re back,” Raina dryly remarks, as he and Ms. Dumar exit the lecture hall. “What happened?” 

“Witness interview,” Ms. Dumar says before Kori can answer. “And I need to talk to you next.” 

“Whatever.” Raina stands, brushing her sweatpants off, following Ms. Dumar into the lecture hall, door shutting quietly behind her. 

Kori moves for the nurse’s office door, but Cathay stops him.

“Are you okay?” She softly asks, more kindness in her voice then Kori thinks he’s ever heard from her before. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

“I - I’m fine.” Getting an idea, Kori pulls his hoodie sleeve up, showing Cathay his wrist. “Hey, is there anything weird on my wrist?” He asks.

Cathay frowns, tilting her head and squinting. “...There’s a couple of freckles… and a scratch from the underbrush… but other then that, nothing that I can see.” Her face is distorted in the metal of the screws, brown eyes furrowed. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah - I’m good. Just wondering.” He shuts the nurse’s office door behind him before she can say anything else. 

Exhaling, he looks back down at his wrists, black eyes hollow in his distorted reflection. _ They really couldn’t see it, _ he thinks to himself. _ They really can’t see it. Am I - am I going crazy? _

  
  


“Hello again.” 

  
  


Kori turns, owlish green eyes boring into his head. 

“I didn’t expect you to come back,” Jikan remarks, sitting up in his bed. “You seemed rather…”

“Wigged out,” Kori finished.

“...I don’t know what that means, but sure,” Jikan admits, sighing. “How are you?”

“Uhh…” Before he knows what he’s doing, Kori puts a hand on Jikan’s jaw, turning his head to the side.

“Excuse me -” Jikan dryly remarks, but Kori isn’t listening. Sure enough, plain as day, a metal screw sticks out of the side of his forehead, glinting in the light, reflecting off the dingy fluorescent lights. It was real, it  _ had  _ to be. He couldn’t have been going crazy, he -

“ _ Excuse _ me.” Kori suddenly realizes how uncomfortable this must be for Jikan, and stumbles back, awkwardly laughing.

“S - sorry.” He stutters. “I just - needed to confirm something.”

Jikan’s hands go to the side of his head, all bony wrists and thin fingers. “...My screws,” he says. 

  
  


Kori’s heart skips a beat.

  
  


“I - you see them?” He breathes.

Jikan blinks. 

“Yes,” he replies simply. 

Kori sticks out his wrists, showing Jikan his screws. “Then - can you see this?” He asks.

Jikan looks down, then looks back up. “...Yes,” he replies.

Kori stumbles back. “...Oh, thank GOD,” he exclaims, throwing his hands up to the ceiling. “I thought I was going insane.”

Jikan arches a thick eyebrow at him. “...What do you mean?” 

“When I asked the others, they said they couldn’t see them,” Kori responds, hands running through his hair. “I have no idea why, but they just - couldn’t.”

“Have they ever responded to them before?” Jikan asks. “Judging by your confusion, I’d say no.”

“Well…” Looking back on it, he thinks that Remy may have made a few references towards it, but maybe not. He might have been reading too much into it. “No, I guess not. I dunno, I just never really gave it any thought.”

“Hm.” Jikan frowns, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “That isn’t normal.”

“No kidding,” Kori laughs, no humor behind the sound. “Nothing about this situation is normal.” 

  
  


They’re silent for a few seconds, Kori awkwardly twisting his hoodie string around his finger until the skin turns white.

“They said my abilities were abnormal.” Jikan finally says. “That it isn’t possible. But isn’t any ability like yours or your friends impossible?”

“Well -” Oh shit. This was gonna be hard to explain. “It’s a bit… complicated.”

“I’m listening.” Jikan leans forward, anticipatory. Kori sighs, rubbing his temples, feeling the start of another headache coming on. 

“Okay - so - disregarding me, most of what my friends can do is within the laws of physics and stuff,” Kori starts. “Do you know what the laws of physics are?” 

Jikan shakes his head, and Kori huffs. “Okay, well, whatever. Point is, if you actually study their abilities, it all operates within the laws of physics, which is like, stuff that is actually possible. See, Remy, for example, can shoot fire, right?” When Jikan nods, Kori plows on. “It seems impossible, but what he’s actually doing is manipulating the air around him and changing its density and temperature.”

Jikan nods again, and Kori continues. “And that applies to everyone here. Raina makes shields by creating a thin layer of plasmatic matter by quickly pushing a crap ton of kinetic energy into the atoms around her, which changes its state. And Cathay is capable of creating a type of pollen that quickly accelerates the cellular cycle of any given plant, making it bigger or smaller if she wants. Does that make sense?”

“No,” Jikan simply replies. 

Kori facepalms. “...Nevermind.” He huffs, turning away.

Jikan stops him, grabbing his wrist. “But you said you’re an exception to the rule,” he says. “Why?”

Kori shakily inhales, pulling away. “I - it’s hard to explain,” he starts. “You see -” Kori wills the skin of his finger to break open, a thin line of blood dripping down his palm. Kori tugs on it with his mind, like how one twirls a ribbon, and the small droplets dance around Jikan’s head, before falling to the floor, cut resealing itself. “I can control my blood,” Kori says.

Jikan doesn’t respond, eyes wide.

“I know, it’s kinda creepy and stuff, but it’s pretty helpful-”

“Do that again.”

Kori looks up at Jikan, eyes wide with wonder. “Do that again,” Jikan simply repeats. 

Kori scoffs, a bit taken aback, ears flushing red. “I - uh, okay? I mean, I dunno why you’d want to but like -” He repeats what he did once again, Jikan breaking out into a smile full of wonder as the red dances around his head. “I uh - I can regenerate it really fast too, and same with limbs and stuff, albeit a lot less fast. So like - I can’t bleed out and whatever.”

“Cool.”

Kori looks at him.

“That’s very cool,” Jikan says simply, eyes still transfixed on the dancing liquid.

Kori awkwardly laughs, sending the blood into the trash can in the corner. “Well… thanks, or whatever,” he stutters. No one had ever called his ability ‘cool’ before, and he’s not quite sure how to handle it. “They can’t find anything in me that would be able to regenerate super fast though,” he continues, struggling to get his composure back. “No speedy cells, nothing. Not to mention controlling blood - anything really - is like, super absurd.”

“Can’t your friend Remy control fire?” 

“No, he can shoot it. He can’t like, make it dance around your head and whatever.” Kori sits down in one of the chairs in the corner, suddenly feeling very tired. His ability did that to him sometimes. 

“I see.” Jikan frowns, deep in thought, sitting so still, Kori thought he stopped breathing. “So that would make us the odd ones out,” he finally says. 

“You catch on quick.” Jikan smiles at that, too much teeth in his grin. Kori swallows, nervously continuing. “And we both have screws, ones that people are claiming they can’t see - isn’t that too much of a coincidence?” 

Jikan shrugs “I don’t see why it’s a problem.”

Ah, figures he wouldn’t get it.

“But it seems to be with you, judging by how annoyed you got with that answer,” Jikan finishes. Kori gapes at him. Jikan flashes him his eerie smile again, and Kori inwardly recoils. Jikan was an empath, after all. It was going to be really hard to hide anything from him.

“I -” They’re rudely interrupted by Mrs. Portman bursting back into the room, tray with a syringe on it.

“Out!” She orders, shooing Kori out the door. “I still have very important checkups to do, and I cannot do them while someone else is in here!”

Kori sputters. “But -”

“Out!!” The door is slammed rudely behind him, Kori stumbling forward and almost running into the hallway wall. 

He grumbles, standing up. Looking back at the nurse’s office, the door is closed, and he can hear no noise coming from the other side. 

Kori sighs. Maybe he should go back to his dorm room for now. 

Mind swirling, he starts down the hall, trying to ignore the threads of curiosity that linger in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	6. 5 - contemplation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kori liked predictability. It’s a big part of his character, finding solace in a routine, no matter how strange it might seem. He thrived in the repetitive classes and lectures at Harkwell, doing the monotonous tasks and work they gave to him with gusto.
> 
> But now, that had all been uprooted. The fragile stability of his life lays in tatters. 
> 
> And he’s angry.

Kori’s lava lamp is busted. 

He flicks the wall switch once, twice, trying to get it to turn on, but nothing happens. Exhaling through his teeth, he flops down on the chair in front of his messy desk, rolling his head back, weight of the day crashing over him.

What the hell was he supposed to do now? 

  
  


Kori liked predictability. It’s a big part of his character, finding solace in a routine, no matter how strange it might seem. He thrived in the repetitive classes and lectures at Harkwell, doing the monotonous tasks and work they gave to him with gusto.

But now, that had all been uprooted. The fragile stability of his life lays in tatters. 

And he’s angry.

  
  


“Fuck this,” Kori mutters under his breath, fury dawning on him. Why the hell did Jikan have to single out  _ him  _ of all people? To try and transmit his pleas for help to Kori? What had he done to make Jikan point to the throng of students and say: “I want that one.” It was dumb.  _ This  _ was dumb. He should have just stayed in his room that morning. 

And now, the screws. God, what the hell was that all about? He had never bothered to ask anyone about them - he had just kind of assumed they all knew. He has no idea how he came to that conclusion, the memory of his first few weeks at Harkwell are a bit blurry, but still. And now, everyone was claiming they couldn’t see them, and that  _ he  _ was going crazy? Bullshit. 

“Bullshit!” Kori exclaims to the walls. The walls, being walls, don’t reply.

  
  


The door, however, does. Or rather, someone behind it. 

  
  


“Kori?” Remy knocks on the door again, sounding mildly freaked. “You okay in there?” 

Kori sighs. “Yeah, I’m good.” He replies. “Just thinking.”

  
  


A moment of silence.

  
  


“Can I come in?” 

“...Sure.”

The door creaks open a sliver, and Remy slinks in, looking strangely guilty. (Probably about interrupting Kori’s brooding solitude - god, he really was being such a baby about this, huh?) Kori swivels around, chair’s wheels clacking on the floor, and Remy sits down on the bed, tugging awkwardly at the sleeves of his leather jacket.

Neither one speaks for a moment. 

  
  


“You sure you’re -”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

A beat.

“...Okay, that’s a lie.”

“No kidding.” Remy leans back on the bed, brushing auburn strands of hair out of his face. “You sounded like you were having a crisis.”

“‘M just annoyed.” Kori grunts, laying his head down on his desk, papers fluttering to the floor. “I was doing just fine before all this, and now I have to worry about some random dude who I found comatose under the school for some godforsaken reason. Excuse me if I don’t really want to deal with that right now, I already have enough going on in my head as is.”

“Jeez.” Remy replies, leaning forward. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this tilted before. You’re usually so zen.”

_ Zen _ . “You’d be surprised.” Nothing about his churning thoughts screamed  _ zen  _ to Kori, but then again, Remy wouldn’t know that. “At any rate, sorry for being a bitch baby and waking you up.”

“It’s only like, nine dude.” Remy shrugs, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m gonna go ahead and say that ninety percent of the dorm isn’t asleep yet.” 

“Has anyone caught wind of what’s going on?” Kori asks, straightening up. 

“Not as far as I can tell.” Remy replies, leaning back against the wall. “The official story is that they found a suspicious thing and removed it. Most people think it was a bomb of some kind.”

“Ah.” That would make sense. Kori has heard stories about police academies getting bomb threats, so it makes sense people would jump to that conclusion. Far more likely than the actual story. “That’s good. I don’t want Jikan getting hounded.” 

The corner of Remy’s lips quirk upwards at that, and Kori puts his head back down. “Anywho,” Kori continues. “I’m gonna mope some more, so can you get out of my room?”

“Trust me, I don’t wanna be in here anymore then you do. Your vibes are rancid.” Kori sticks his tongue out at that, and Remy stands, sliding out the door. He throws a “Ciao,” over his shoulder, and shuts the door behind Kori, leaving him once again in total darkness.

His lava lamp weakly flickers once before going out again.

Kori can hear squirrels running through the gutter next to his window. 

  
  


So he exhales a breath he didn’t know he was holding, flopping down onto his bed. God, today had been a shitshow. And now what was gonna happen? He obviously couldn’t go back to pretending everything was normal, not after what he learned. That there was someone else like him.

Absentmindedly, he runs his hands against the worn wooden frame of his bed, and a jolt of pain runs through his index finger. He pulls it back up, to see a thin sliver of wood sticking out of his palm. Kori sighs, yanking the splinter out, and letting the blood trickling down his palm float up and dance around his head, as chaotic as the thoughts in his mind. 

_ No one can see the screws, huh?  _ Kori thinks to himself, a few drops of crimson smattering his face.  _ There’s gotta be some kind of reason. Jikan’s powers seem to be related to the brain - maybe he’s making people see things?  _

_ But he couldn’t manipulate your feelings.  _ The more logical part of his brain points out.  _ So how would he be able to do this? _

_ Maybe he was lying.  _ He argues back at himself. _ Maybe he can manipulate my thoughts. _

_ And if that’s the case, what would he even get out of it?  _ The other half of him remarks.

_ I dunno. _ He rolls his eyes, letting the blood seep back into his finger and rolling over onto his side. 

_ I think you’re just looking for a reason to blame Jikan for this.  _ The logical voice in his head, which is starting to sound an awful lot like Cathay, says. 

“...You’re not wrong.” Kori mutters to a silent room. 

  
  


He closes his eyes, and lets sleep take him. 

  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


_ Soft hands card through his hair, ocean breeze nipping at his nose. He can feel his legs half submerged in the icy liquid, and he resists the urge to shiver.  _

_ “You’re tense.” The person behind him quietly remarks, thin fingers braiding strands of brown.  _

_ “...It’s been a weird day.” Kori replies, looking down at the water below.  _

_ The person behind him hums in approval, and Kori can almost see the look he’s giving him, soft eyes upturned in sympathy. “I understand.” They say. “Life tends to be like that.” _

_ “And what would you know?” Kori quietly retorts, familiar fire stoking in his gut. “You’re just a voice in my head.” _

_ “Maybe.” Hands move down to the nape of his neck, braid halfway finished. “But if that’s the case, you give yourself very strange advice.” _

_ “Sod off.” Kori hisses. They chuckle at that, tying off the strand of hair.  _

_ “Whatever you think I am, that’s what I’ll be.” They reply, and the words burn red in Kori’s mind. “After all, it’s not like anyone’s around to hear you.” _

_ “Except you.”  _

_ Cold hands rest on his shoulder. It would have been comforting if Kori knew how he felt. “Except me.” _

_ Hands cusp his chin to turn it to the left, blurry face leaning in to his, and it all goes white. _

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Kori blinks, bleary eyes opening to a cracked and worn ceiling. He groans, rolling on his side, memories of the previous day blinking in and out of his mind, mixing with the mirage of his dreams.

“Fucking hell…” He groans. As if his life wasn’t already hard enough, now he’s going to have to deal with feeling like shit all day because his brain decided to go all - that.

For what isn’t the first time, Kori considers going to see the school counselor. But he puts it out of his mind, standing up to get dressed and start the day.

  
  
  
  


* * *

The minute he walks into the dining hall to grab his lukewarm eggs, all eyes turn to him. Kori freezes, seeing everyone’s stares, legs locking up. 

_ They know. _ He realizes. 

  
  


Head down, he makes his way over to the table on the far left, where everyone else is eating. He slams his tray down with a loud clatter, making his presence known.

“Who snitched.” Kori demands, eyes narrowed. 

“Huh?” Cathay asks. 

“It’s pretty obvious that everyone knows about Jikan by now. So  _ one  _ of you had to have spilled.” Kori levies an accusatory glare at each one of them, Cathay matching his gaze, Raina going back to eating her cereal, and Remy balking under the intensity of it. 

_ Wait. _

“Remy…?” Kori growls. 

“I’m sorry!!” Remy bursts out, waving his hands frantically. “Calvin was pressing me about what you had been up to after PE and he wouldn’t let me go to bed until I answered and you KNOW how I am with peer pressure -”

“Oh my GOD.” Kori groans, burying his head in his hands. “You had one job. ONE. JOB!”

“I’m so sorry!!” Remy exclaims again, fiddling with his silver ring, tips of his ears bright red. “I really didn’t mean it!”

“If anything, get mad at Calvin.” Raina pipes up. “He’s the one who wouldn’t let his roommate sleep until he answered his question.”

“Well, Calvin’s just like that. And it’s Remy’s fault for being a baby.” Cathay points out.

“Cathay, I thought you were on my side!” Remy groans. Cathay simply sticks her tongue out at him. 

Kori growls, going back to angrily shoveling eggs in his mouth. This was just  _ great _ , now there was going to be so much unwanted attention on him. Already, he can feel the stares of the student body burn the back of his neck, and his stomach turns, sick nausea boiling up.

Kori stands. “I’m going outside.” He says, pushing his tray away. “Don’t follow me.”

  
  


As he’s walking away, Cathay yells after him. “Are you going to finish your eggs?” She asks. 

Kori flips her the bird. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


The now-fixed fence prevented Kori from going down to the beach, unless he was looking to get shocked. So instead, he slumps down under a tree, brooding. The early morning sun is shining right in his face, which does nothing to help his raging headache. 

Kori wants to groan. He wants to groan and yell and complain, just so he could get it out. But he finds he can’t, content to stay the miserable little ball of problems his personality had become. So a soft sigh escapes his lips, and he closes his eyes, thinking.

_ So what was going to happen now?  _ He wonders.  _ With Jikan? _

_ He’ll probably be taken somewhere else.  _ The other half of his brain replies. _ So they’ll know what to do with him. _

That made sense. And Kori should be happy about that. That way, life could go back to normal. But as he absentmindedly scratches his wrists, nails picking at metal, he realizes that’s kind of off the table. Not with what he knows now. 

Still, this was all so confusing. Kori has to wonder how on earth no one could see his screws except for him and Jikan. Was there some kind of cloaking on it? Maybe by someone who had that ability. But it shouldn’t be able to last that long - wouldn’t it have worn off by now? That didn’t make any sense. 

_ None of this makes any sense, nimwad. _ His brain points out.

Kori’s about to engage in yet another witty and pointless argument with himself when -

  
  


_ BVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR- _

  
  


He looks up, to see, on the horizon, a small motor boat, zipping across the waves. 

Kori stands, backing up. _ That’s - no one was supposed to know where Harkwell island was - that’s top secret information. That’s classified! _

So - what was this boat doing here? Was it an accident? 

(Kori remembers something that Mr. Jameson said in his class, that the waters around Harkwell were forbidden and blocked off areas. There were regulations around it and everything - it was very official.) 

This couldn’t have been an accident, as much as Kori wants to believe it is. But he’s knocked out of his stupor by seeing the boat circle back, and someone on it stands up. 

Waving their arms. 

As if they were trying to signal him.

_ They were looking for him. _

  
  


Kori takes off as fast as he can, lungs gasping for air, back to the campus as fast as his long legs can take him.

It was going to be a long day.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	7. 6 - decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secretary, Mrs. Michella, walks in, heels clacking against the marble floor. “Kori Saelim?” She asks, looking down at her clipboard. Kori stiffens, standing up, and she looks up at him, eyes unreadable under the thick rims of her glasses. “The Dean would like to see you.”
> 
> Ah. The school’s president.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay! life has kinda been kicking my ass the past few weeks, but i'll try and get back on schedule from now on.

The first class of the day is a shitshow. Kori can’t concentrate at all, anxiously tapping his finger against the lecture hall’s desk, much to the chagrin of his classmates. Once or twice, he catches someone staring at him, the person always looking away when they make eye contact. 

It’s enough to make someone scream, and Kori certainly wants to. The only thing keeping him in his seat and the thin veneer of calm up is the thoughts swirling chaotically around in his head, pondering over the events of the past day and a half. Jikan, the mysterious boat, the underground room - all of it seemed so surreal. Like things were just happening around him, and he was just watching, detached from his body and reality. He oh-so desperately wants to squeeze his eyes shut and let the world swim back to black, but he knows that he’s not even safe when he’s asleep, dreams gently tugging on the loose threads in his mind. 

So he sits, stewing in anxious silence, like a molotov cocktail three seconds away from exploding and killing everyone within five feet of it, which was an apt comparison for how nervous his peers sitting near him were looking at that moment. 

At least, until the door swings open. 

The secretary, Mrs. Michella, walks in, heels clacking against the marble floor. “Kori Saelim?” She asks, looking down at her clipboard. Kori stiffens, standing up, and she looks up at him, eyes unreadable under the thick rims of her glasses. “The Dean would like to see you.”

Ah. The school’s president. 

  
  


_ Great.  _

  
  


Kori shuffles out of the cramped row he’s in, grabbing his worn leather bookbag, and makes his way down the pews to where Mrs. Michella awaits. “Come on.” She says, roughly grabbing his arm. Kori wants to protest, but can’t find it in himself to do so. 

He thinks he sees his peers’s eyes filling with pity as the door shuts behind them.

  
  


* * *

“So,” Kori starts, wrenching his arm from Mrs. Michella’s tight grasp, and struggling to keep up with her brisk pace. “What exactly am I needed for?”

She doesn’t respond.

“Is it about… him?” 

He takes her silence as a ‘yes’. 

  
  


The hallway blends around him as they walk down corridors, and Kori’s stomach anxiously flips. What if something had happened? What if he was in trouble of some sort? But what did he do? Would the Dean be mad at him for finding Jikan in the first place? It’s not like it was his fault that his mind was being messed with, even if he didn’t really understand the hows or whys of the matter. 

At the top floor, after climbing a few flights of stairs, leaving Kori a bit red in the face, they round the corner to the Dean’s office. Mrs. Michella opens the door, and practically shoves him inside, roughly slamming the door behind him. 

  
  


_...Nice lady.  _

  
  


Kori rubs his bruised arm, annoyed, before turning to see everyone staring at him. Dean Galton stares back, beady black eyes narrowed in the dim office light, soft lamp reflecting off of his bald head. Ms. Dumar sat next to him, hands folded in her lap, and, on the other side of the desk, sat Raina, Remy, and Cathay. 

“That’s everyone I guess.” Raina sighs, biting on a nail. “So can you please tell us what we’re doing in here?” 

“Welcome Mr. Saelim.” Dean Galton says cooly, ignoring Raina entirely. He instead gestures to the empty chair sitting in front of the desk, next to Cathay. “Take a seat.”

Kori sits. 

“Now then,” Dean Galton starts, before being interrupted by Remy raising his hand. “...Yes, Mr. Throndensen.” 

“Is this about Jikan?” Remy replies, pulling on the cuff of his leather jacket. 

“Yes.” Ms. Dumar responds. “If you would just let us get to that-”

“Are we in trouble?” Cathay interjects, much to the Dean’s chagrin. 

“...Not exactly, if you would just -”

“Is this going to affect my -”

“ **Quiet** !” The four of them fall silent, Dean Galton huffing. “If you would let me  _ speak _ , I could answer your questions.”

“Sorry Dean Galton.” They all say in unison. 

“Thank you.” The Dean clears his throat, and continues. “As you know, yesterday, we recovered a highly unusual individual under our school. He introduced himself as Jikan, and has been in our custody for about twenty four hours.”

_ It’s only been a day? This whole fiasco felt longer than that.  _

“I gathered you four here because you are the only witnesses we have.” The Dean continues. “And, since we already collected your initial statements, I just wanted to see if there were any additional things you’d like to add before we proceed.” 

Kori thinks about bringing up the figure in the boat he had seen, as well as the screws. But a small part of his brain screams at him to stay quiet, so he keeps his mouth shut. 

“Very well.” The Dean says, taking their silence as a response. “Then you should all be the first to know that due to the circumstances surrounding him, Jikan will be staying at Harkwell for the time being.”

“WHAT?!” Kori shoots up, clenching the wooden table so tight he can feel the individual pricks of wood digging into his skin. “Why?!”

Ms. Dumar and Dean Galton exchange a glance, one so quick he almost misses it. 

“We cannot say.” Ms. Dumar finally says. 

“Bullshit.” Kori growls. “If we’re going to be stuck in this mess for a while, we might as well know why!”

“Kori, calm down.” Cathay interjects, grabbing his hand in a vain attempt to soothe him. “It’s probably just a security measure or something.” 

Kori wrenches his hand away, silently fuming. Raina fixes him a look as if to tell him to shut up, before turning back to the Dean. “And how long do you think this will last?” She asks, tone carefully controlled. 

“As long as it needs to.” The Dean replies smoothly. “While I cannot reveal the details to you at this time, it’s important to know that his safety is our number one priority right now. And we believe that he will be the safest here.”

“Did you ask Jikan if he was okay with this?” Kori remarks.

“He… has complied.” Ms. Dumar answers. 

Somehow, Kori doubts that. But considering he wasn’t going to get anywhere like this, he changes the subject. “Are we going to let everyone else know about this?” He asks. 

“The cover story will be that Jikan is a transfer.” Dean Galton responds, folding his hands. “And I expect you to stick to that cover story. Is that clear?” The four of them nod, opting not to say that everyone probably knew the truth already, thanks to Remy’s big fat mouth. Kori shoots him a glare, and he shrinks in his seat. “Good. Now then,” The Dean waves a fat hand, and they stand. “Dismissed.”

“Hang on,” Cathay interjects, and the rest of them glare at her to get her to shut up. “Where will Jikan be staying?”

The Dean blinks. It seems that had slipped his mind. 

Ms. Dumar strokes her chin thoughtfully, eyes concealed behind her thick glasses. “...Do any of you not have a roommate?” She asks. 

  
  


All heads turn to Kori. 

  
  


He blinks. “No way.” He starts. “Absolutely not.” Ms. Dumar holds up her hand to interject, but he cuts her off. “This mess has caused me enough of a headache as it is. I refuse to make it any worse.” He had already had enough weird bullshit happen to him, and he really didn’t want anymore. 

(Truth be told, Jikan frightened him, just a little bit, not that he would say it out loud. His demeanor was uncannily alluring, and the idea of having a roommate who always knew what he was feeling 24/7 wigged him out in more ways then he’d like to admit.)

Ms. Dumar sighs, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. “Fine.” She grumbles. “Be stubborn. Remy?”

Remy shakes his head. “Sorry Ms. Dumar, I already have Calvin as a roommate.” 

  
  


“I can take him.” All heads swivel to Raina, who’s leaning casually against the doorframe. “I’m not rooming with anyone.”

Dean Galton’s brow furrows. “...Ms. Tiel, you know we have a policy against girls and boys rooming together -”

“And I literally don’t give a flying fuck.” Raina shoots back, crossing her arms. “Jikan should probably stay with someone who knows what his deal is. Kori’s being a stubborn asshole, so let me do it.”

The two teachers exchange looks. 

“...Ms. Tiel, while this is awfully generous of you, I cannot allow -”

“I’m not gonna try and bone him, so don’t worry about it.” The Dean sputters at Raina’s blunt remark, round face going red. “Seriously.”

“Alright, alright!” Ms. Dumar interjects, scowling. “Jikan can room with you. But that is until we find him a more suitable living arrangement.” 

“Cool.” Raina goes back to picking at her nails, and the four of them stand in the office awkwardly as the Dean takes a swig from his water glass to calm his sputtering. 

“...Why the hell are you still standing here?!” Dean Galton scowls. “I said you could go!”

And with that, the four of them scurry out, the Dean rudely slamming the door behind them. 

  
  
  


* * *

Once outside, Raina begins to snicker, and Cathay huffs, pulling on a strand of curly hair. “Raina.” Cathay scowls, fixing Raina with a hard stare. “You can’t just say such… crass things in front of the Dean.”

“He’s a grown man, he can handle it.” Raina callously remarks, throwing her hands behind her head and starting back down the hall. “And besides, it’s true. I’m not even into guys.”

“That aside,” Cathay turns back to face Kori, who was stubbornly looking at the floor. “What was up with you? You don’t have a roommate, you’re involved with Jikan, that would have been perfect.”

“I don’t want that guy in my room, why is that so hard to understand?!” Kori scowls, shoving his hands deep into his hoodie pocket. “And besides, why the hell are you people being so calm about this?!”

The three of them give Kori a weird look, Remy arching a thick eyebrow. “What’re you talking about?” He asks. 

“Just - some random dude showed up under our school, with mind reading powers -”

“Empath.” Jikan cooly responds.

“Yeah, exactly - and you guys are just like, ‘oh whatever, let’s argue about room arrangements’?!” Kori throws his hands up in exasperation. “I feel like we should be more freaked out then we… wait, who said that-?”

Kori swivels on his heel to look behind him, and sure enough, Jikan stands right behind him, ringed eyes staring right back. Remy, Cathay, and Raina all peer out from behind Kori, scanning Jikan from top to bottom. 

  
  


“...I don’t remember him being that short.” Remy whispers to Cathay, who has to stifle a giggle. 

  
  


“When the hell did you get here?” Kori scowls, crossing his arms. 

“I was just released from the infirmary.” Jikan starts, before quizzically looking at Raina, who flashes him a finger gun in response. “What did you say to Sven Galton to make Cathay so upset?” 

“I’m not upset.” Cathay huffs. “Just annoyed.” (“His first name is Sven?” Remy snickers)

“...I thought that was the same thing.” Jikan replies.

“I told him I didn’t want to bone you.” Raina interrupts. 

“Aaaaaand we’re officially done with this conversation, hi Jikan, I’m Remy, what a lovely day, huh?” Remy sputters before that train of conversation can take off. 

“...We’re inside a building.” Jikan flatly responds. 

“I - it’s a conversation starter dude.” Remy awkwardly replies. 

“It’s not a very good one.”

  
  


The four of them stare flatly at Jikan for a minute.

  
  


“I get the feeling you’re going to be hard to talk to.” Remy sighs.

“I’m sorry?”

“Anywho,” Raina interjects, pointing down the hall. “You’re going to be rooming with me. We’re down this way.”

“Oh. Okay.” The two of them start down the hall towards the girls' dorms, with Raina asking Jikan if he snores, much to Jikan’s relative confusion. As the conversation fades into the distance, Kori scowls, mind churning in thought. 

Jikan had something to do with the boat he saw earlier. And, despite everyone’s strange chillness about this situation, Kori knew that something was up. And he was determined to figure out what. 

  
  


But he needed to tell someone first.

  
  


So, he turns to the only person in his friend group who he really trusts to keep a secret.

  
  
  


“Cathay,” He says. “Can I talk to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	8. 7 - confidant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is this about Jikan?” Cathay asks suspiciously.
> 
> “Kinda…?” Thinking back to the morning, Kori plows forward, recalling the figure he had seen on the boat. “So, you know how this academy is pretty heavily guarded, right?”
> 
> “Yeah, everyone does. Government funded school, police and CIA stuff, blah blah blah.” Cathay replies. “What does this have to do with anything?”
> 
> “I saw someone this morning.”
> 
> Cathay freezes. 

Cathay’s dorm room is a bit messier than Kori would have expected from someone like her. Considering how type A she is, he had figured her room would be just as organized and neat as her notes, maybe even colored coded and alphabetized. Instead, while it certainly isn't messy, it’s still a bit unkempt. A few sheets of notes litter the floor, wadded up balls of paper, crumpled up in frustration, were strewn about in the corner. Her desk is also pretty disorganized, papers pencils and folders all spread out in a chaotic pile. 

Cathay shuts the door behind them with a quiet click, turning back to Kori and crossing her arms, golden necklace bouncing with every movement she makes. “We’re going to miss lunch, you know.” She remarks. “This had better be important.”

“Oh please, we both know you hardly touch your food anyways.” Ignoring the churning in his stomach, Kori takes a seat on the bright blue plastic swivel chair, ignoring the protests of the lower half of his body. “Plus, I think you might want to hear this.”

“If it’s so important, then why didn’t you go get everyone else?”

“...I - well, I’m gonna be honest, I wouldn’t trust Remy to keep a secret to save his life, and Raina… I dunno, she’s kind of an enigma to me.”

“Well, then spill. I don’t have all afternoon.” Cathay crosses her legs, and Kori swallows, nervously twiddling his thumbs. He still doesn’t quite know how much he can tell Cathay, as she’s still a bit of a mystery to him. But on the other hand, having her help him figure this stuff out would be a huge asset, considering how sharp she is.

“Kori?” Cathay snaps her fingers twice in front of his face and he jolts, brought back to reality. “You there?”

“Yeah - sorry, just… figuring out where to start.” Kori nervously replies.

“Is this about Jikan?” Cathay asks suspiciously.

“Kinda…?” Thinking back to the morning, Kori plows forward, recalling the figure he had seen on the boat. “So, you know how this academy is pretty heavily guarded, right?”

“Yeah, everyone does. Government funded school, police and CIA stuff, blah blah blah.” Cathay replies. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“I saw someone this morning.”

Cathay freezes. 

“In a boat.” Kori says, awkwardly pulling on the purple hoodie he had wrapped around his waist. “Right offshore, maybe half a mile out? And I  _ swear  _ I saw someone on it who was looking right at me.”

“...What did you do?” Cathay asks. 

“Well I - I panicked and ran back to the dining hall.” Kori sheepishly responds. “I didn’t really know what to do.”

“And you didn’t think to tell someone?” Cathay exclaims, arching a thick eyebrow. “Like a professor? Or maybe the administration? This could be a serious breach of secur-”

“I know, I know,” Kori huffs. Maybe he should have just gone to Raina, at least she wouldn’t have given him the safety spheal. “But… it’s just weird.”

Cathay tilts her head in confusion. “What is?” 

“That the boat showed up pretty much as soon as we found Jikan.” Kori responds, brow furrowed deep in thought. “I mean, if it happened like a week apart, then maybe I could have just chalked it up to some random sailor getting lost, but the day after? Right when the rest of the academy finds out? I dunno man, it just seems like too much of a coincidence.”

“...Mhm.” Cathay turns away, thoughtfully stroking her chin. “That is fair, actually. I just…”

“Just what?” 

“I don’t know, it just seems a little… far fetched.” Cathay replies. “I mean, this sort of thing has never happened before, not to mention the information would have had to have gotten to the mainland pretty damn fast. And we both know the signal out here is virtually nonexistent.”

“I guess... “ Kori mumbled, glancing down at the floor. “But still. It’s just too soon -”

“Correlation doesn't equal causation Kori.”

“Aren’t you people being way too calm about this?” Kori snaps, jabbing a gloved finger in Cathay’s direction.

She blinks. “...Come again?”

“I mean - we find a guy under the school, who’s being kept alive by nothing but machine equipment, and all you people have to say is; ‘that’s kinda odd, you need a place to stay?’ I dunno man, I just feel like I’m the only one here who’s even properly confused about this?!”

“Kori.” Cathay places a hand on his arm, and he stops mid-rant. “I know you don’t like this -”

“No shit.”

“-And believe me, everyone else is just as weirded out as you are. But this is what life is for us now. A guy was in a coma under the academy, we saved him, that’s that. You don’t need to keep agonizing over the details. That’s the police and the Dean’s job, not ours.”

“But I -” 

“I know you’re concerned. Believe me, everyone else is too. But right now, we can’t solve every mystery we come across. We still have class to do and a life to live.”

Kori doesn’t respond, biting his lip and looking away. Was he being irrational? Jikan’s predicament was strange, yeah, but is it really his job to make sense of it? He always does tend to hyperfocus on whatever was going wrong too much. 

But then, he looks down at his wrist, silver metal obscured by his fingerless gloves. He thinks back to how no one could see it, and how Jikan had them too. 

No. This did involve him.

“I don’t need platitudes.” Kori growls, wrenching his arm away. “I need answers.”

Cathay sighs, fixing him with a disappointed look. “...Fine.” She says. “You have every right to be curious. But I for one, am fine just letting this play out.” She turns away, pulling herself up from the bed. “This isn’t my job after all.”

“Yeah.” He gets it. Kori and Cathay are more similar than he had thought, both hating the idea of change. But while Cathay tries to ignore it, Kori does everything he can to rationalize it. Why? He’s got no damn idea. Maybe it’s feral caveman brain talking, but he hates the unknown. “You’re good.”

He turns to leave, hand on the cool metal doorknob.

“I do think you should at least let the Dean know what you saw.” Cathay pipes up.

Kori sighs, letting some weight slip off his shoulders. “I’ll get to it.” He replies, walking out the door and shutting it quietly behind him.

Kori exhales, and allows himself to breathe for one second.

Two seconds.

Then, he looks up, bright green eyes staring right back at him.

  
  


“Jesus-!” Kori jumps back, slamming against the doorframe. Jikan stares back at him, head tilted in confusion. “Don’t do that man, you nearly made me shit myself-” Kori huffs. 

“I’m sorry. I was just looking for you.” Jikan replies, tone flat. God, that never fails to unnerve him. 

“Sure.” Kori mutters, straightening his posture in an attempt to look presentable. “What’s up?”

“You seemed distressed earlier. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“I - right, yeah. Empath.” That’s annoying. “Hey, you don’t have to like, y’know, look for me when you think I’m feeling crappy.”

“I know you’re feeling crappy.” 

“I - god, you are hard to talk to.” Either Kori’s eyes are deceiving him, or the corner of Jikan’s mouth quirks upwards into a little smile for a split second. “But it’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“But I-” Jikan cuts himself off, looking down. “Alright.” 

“Cool.”

An awkward silence.

“...How’s campus?” Kori asks in a pitiful attempt to start conversation. 

“Fine.” Jikan sniffs, wiggling his foot awkwardly. “Very clean.”

“Mhm.”

More silence.

“What do you think about Raina?” 

“She’s… fine.”

“Meaning?”

“A bit crass. And angry.”

“Angry?” Raina doesn’t strike Kori as a very angry person - if anything, she was super zen. “About what?”

Jikan shrugs. 

The two of them stare at each other for a minute. 

“So... “ Kori starts. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything?”

Jikan fidgets a little bit. “Yes.” He replies.

“You’re sure.”

“Uh-huh.”

“One hundred percent?”

“Are you investigating?” Jikan interjects, and Kori chokes on his spit. “You’re very curious about me. I’d normally be flattered, but -”

“I - no. I’m not.” Kori shoots back. He doesn’t know why he doesn’t want to let Jikan in on what he’s doing, but a little nagging voice in his head tells him not to trust this guy. “I’m curious, hell, I’m sure everyone else is, but not that curious.”

“Are you lying?”

“Absolutely not.” Kori bluntly replies.

Jikan stares at him.

“Okay.” He says finally.

“Cool. We’re cool then. So - bye.” Kori turns on his heel and power walks down to the dining hall, ears red. True, Jikan’s power made it so that he was basically a living, breathing lie detector, but still, it was annoying being sussed out so quickly. Kori isn’t exactly an emotionally open guy, so he doesn’t really enjoy the prospect of someone being able to see through all of his bullshit.

Speaking of which - “Why are you following me?” Kori snaps, against his better judgement.

Jikan, who had been tailing him, shrugs. “I need to eat.” He replies flatly. “And I can’t say I know the way.”

“Didn’t Raina show you around or something?”

“No, she went to her room and fell asleep.”

Kori rolls his eyes at that. “God, why do I have to do everything around here,” He grumbles, before turning a corner and pressing the down button for the elevator at the end of the hall. “The dining room is on the first floor, right behind the foyer. It’s impossible to miss it.” 

“Are you allowed to eat anywhere else?” Jikan asks. 

“Yeah, but like, it’s wet outside, and I… I like to eat inside. Take it or leave it.” Kori has no clue why he’s being so defensive all the sudden. He’s just asking where the dining hall is, and here Kori is acting like Jikan had pissed on his doorstep. But he can’t find it in himself to take it back.

Jikan somehow doesn’t notice the rampant annoyance in his voice, and continues on, the two of them stepping into the elevator. 

  
  


It’s silent in there, metal railing Kori’s leaning on poking uncomfortably into his back. Jikan stands in the direct center (terrible elevator etiquette, someone should really teach him otherwise) and doesn’t move, watching the floor numbers tick down on the black screen in the top right corner. 

It’s rather stuffy. 

“Why are there elevators and stairs?” Jikan asks softly. “I never understood why you couldn’t just have one.”

“In case someone can’t walk.” Kori replies offhandedly. “Or in case of the building catching on fire. The elevators are a no go if there’s a fire.”

“That seems rather evident.”

“Mhm.”

  
  


They’re silent the rest of the way down. 

* * *

  
  
  


Since Raina’s passed out and Cathay has opted to eat somewhere else, lunch is just Remy, Kori, and Jikan. Needless to say, it’s a bit of an awkward affair, everyone’s head swivelling to face the pair when they walk in. Kori blanches under the numerous gazes, weaving through couches and tables to each the one Remy is at.

“Hey - oh, it’s you!” Remy exclaims, looking up at Jikan as the two of them sit down. “Hi, I’m Remy.” Remy sticks out a hand, silver ring gleaming in the fluorescents.

“I remember. You introduced yourself earlier.” Jikan replies, gingerly shaking Remy’s hand. 

“...Cool.” Remy brushes off Jikan’s curt remark, plowing on. “Where’s Raina?”

“She passed out in her dorm or something.” Kori grumbles, poking at his salad with a fork. “She just kind of dumped Jikan in the middle of the campus.”

“Well that’s - that’s pretty typical.” Remy sighs. “Sorry Jikan. She’s not doing that to be mean, she’s just kinda like that.”

“I figured as much.”

The conversation tapers off into silence, Remy taking a large bite of his BLT to fill the silence.

“...Soooo,” Remy starts, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Nice weather we’ve got, huh?”

“We’re inside.” Both Kori and Jikan shoot bak.

“Jesus man, work with me here!” Remy bemoans. “I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.”

“Yeah that about sums it up.” Kori mumbles, taking a bite of his salad.

Remy rolls his eyes, looking away. “Just my luck I got stuck with two of the worst conversationalists I’ve ever met.” He mumbles.

  
  


Kori elects to ignore that comment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	9. 8 - conspiracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Kori knows he’s being a bit mean right now. But it’s not like Jikan was making anything easier for him! He isn’t the guy’s babysitter, and yet the guy had followed him around all day like some sort of kicked puppy. Kori has things to do, places to be, and he can’t exactly go about his day with Jikan on his tail, just kind of… lurking in the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for the week long break. i do theater, and tech week is hell.

Introductions, from Kori’s experience, are always awkward. 

He can faintly remember doing stupid icebreaker games when he was… somewhere. Some kind of youth group or school thing, he doesn’t quite remember, but the point is, it was always obnoxious and awkward. Thankfully, college didn’t really have that sort of thing for new students, rather, just standing up and introducing themselves. 

Jikan’s not great at it either. When, in the third period, he’s called on to stand up and introduce himself, he says his name is “just Jikan,” and doesn’t elaborate when the teacher asks for a last name. Already a big red flag for anyone trying to get to know him, but what was worse, he would never speak when called on to answer a question or summarize the last bit of a lecture. Instead, he would stare off into space until someone (Kori in the Justice and Law lecture’s case) snapped their fingers in front of his eyes, jolting him back to reality. 

Staring at the wall made you look weird enough. But sometimes, Jikan would just… stare at people. 

Kori could feel the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, and he had turned to see Jikan just… leering at him. He was stone still. He didn’t even blink.

Which is why Kori had hauled him out of the class once it was done by the arm, Jikan’s expression still not changing.

“Knock it off.” Kori hisses, once they’re out of earshot. 

“Knock what off?” Jikan replies coolly, and Kori has to resist the urge to wrap his hands around this guy’s neck. 

“Stop - stop  _ staring  _ at me man!” Kori exclaims, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I don’t know about you, but I’M trying to focus, and it’s really hard to do that if you’re just staring at me all the time!”

“But I’m behind you.” Jikan retorts. “It’s not like you can see me.”

“I can - look, why are you even doing that anyways? It’s creepy, okay?” Kori turns away on his heel before Jikan can say anything else, stomping down the hall. Jikan blinks, trailing after him.

Okay, so Kori knows he’s being a bit mean right now. But it’s not like Jikan was making anything easier for him! He isn’t the guy’s babysitter, and yet the guy had followed him around all day like some sort of kicked puppy. Kori has things to do, places to be, and he can’t exactly go about his day with Jikan on his tail, just kind of… lurking in the corner. 

“I see.” Jikan’s soft voice causes Kori to jump, nearly dropping his bag. The guy had been so quiet, Kori had forgotten he was behind him. “You think I’m creepy.” 

Kori swivels around, face red at being called out. “I - no.” He hisses. “That’s - where did you even get that idea?” 

“That’s how you’re feeling right now.” Jikan replies, picking at his uneven nails. “You find me intimidating.”

“That’s - okay, well I certainly don’t find you intimidating.” Kori scowls, crossing his arms. “And you’ve been doing nothing but spacing out and staring at me, excuse me if I’m not a little wigged out by that.”

“...So I  _ do  _ intimidate you.”

“What, you want me to be?” The words slip out before Kori can realize what he’s saying, and closes his mouth quickly, like a fish gulping water. 

  
  


Jikan stares at him, tilting his head very slightly to the left. “...Intimidated?” He asks softly.

Kori purses his lips, looking away. “...Whatever.” he hisses, stalking forward. “Just leave me alone.” 

  
  


Jikan doesn’t follow him this time. Instead, he turns away, looking lost in thought. 

  
  
  


* * *

_ THWACK! _

Wrapped hands slam against the punching bag, gym empty save for the sound of Kori’s furious punches. He swivels to the left, right foot slamming into the side of it, punching bag spinning wildly in the other direction. It swings back towards him, and he punches it again, loud sound reverberating through the hall. He had opted to go here instead of go to dinner, as he hadn’t really been in the mood to socialize. Pissy Kori wasn’t something he wanted to subject his friends to, so he had decided to take his frustrations out on the punching bag instead. It wasn’t really helping though, each punch serving to just make him more frustrated when the punching bag inevitably stopped swinging, virtually unharmed. He wishes it would go down, like an actual person would. Maybe then he’d feel some sense of victory.

“Wow.” Kori doesn’t turn around, knowing Raina’s got her trademark smirk on, arms crossed in amusement. “You’re beating that bag like it owes you money or something.”

“Piss off Raina, ‘m not in the mood.” Kori huffs, hitting the punching bag again.

“Seems like it.” Raina ignores him, walking up to the bench next to his and sitting down, propping her feet up. “You’ve been real - ah, how do I phrase this?”

“Bitchy.” Kori retorts. 

_ THWACK!  _ Another solid punch, bag swinging to the right.

“Yeah. You’ve been real bitchy these past few days.” Raina sighs, stretching, and turns to face Kori. “I would ask what’s wrong, but I’m not an idiot.”

“You gonna tell me to knock it off then?” Kori huffs, slamming his fist against the bag, chain holding it up spinning in circles. “Because I don’t need a lecture. If I did, I’d get Cathay.”

“Ouch. I’m gonna tell her you said that.”

“...Please dont.” The anger drains from Kori’s body, and he slumps over himself, hands throbbing. He watches the bag in front of him slowly spin to a stop, indents in the fabric being the only clue he had even been here. He looks down at his hands, raw and bruised underneath the wraps he had hastily thrown on. Not exactly proper boxing etiquette, but he had been too pissed off to care. Now, angry energy thoroughly exerted, all he’s left with is exhaustion. 

“...You wanna like, I dunno - talk about it?” 

“Man, what has been you guys and getting into my personal business these days?” Kori grumbles, standing up to go wash his hands. “A month ago you wouldn’t have even batted an eye if I burst into tears during lunch or some shit.”

“When you phrase it like that, you make me sound like an asshole.”

“Maybe it’s because you are.” Kori snaps back, but the jab lacks any real bite.He turns away, letting the cold water from the kitchen sink wash over his knuckles, waves of relief coursing through him.

Raina slides up next to him, leaning against the sink. “I’m serious though. You mind telling me what’s up?”

Kori debates his options. Tell Raina what’s on his mind, maybe feel a bit better, and risk his secrets either being exposed to the whole campus and also maybe getting made fun of. On the other hand, he keeps his mouth shut, goes to bed with the lingering angry energy in his gut, and probably doesn’t sleep well. 

He can afford not to sleep well.

...Scratch that. He has a test tomorrow.

“Okay, so I told Cathay this, but I figured you should know too…” Against his better judgement, Kori spills, telling everything he told Cathay to Raina. Again, he keeps his mouth shut about the screws, but he tells her about the boats and the weird feeling he has that something is up. 

When he’s done expositing, Raina leans back against the wall, arching a thick eyebrow. “So you’re playing junior detective now, is that right?” She asks.

“Pretty much.” Kori doesn’t even have the energy for a snarky response, shutting the faucet off. “This is all just so out of left field, I can’t help but feel that something’s going on-”

“And what if it isn't?” Raina interjects. “What if it’s just some big coincidence, and you’re wasting your time?”

Kori looks up at her, narrowing his eyes. “...But it’s not.” He argues weakly. 

“You don’t know that.” Raina counters, pushing herself off the white bricked wall and turning to face Kori. “Trust me - speaking from experience, these things are never quite as big as they seem. The police and staff can do all the useless sleuthing, it ain’t your job.”

“But -”

  
“I’m sure there’s a very weird reason why he was down there Kori - maybe he got kidnapped, or maybe someone dumped him there for safekeeping. But I don’t care, and frankly, I don’t think you should either.”

Kori wants to respond, but his throat suddenly catches, something occurring to him.

Kidnapped. 

Someone kidnapped Jikan. 

  
  


And put him on school grounds. 

  
  


“...Raina?” Kori asks, head spinning. 

“What?” She replies.

  
  
  


Kori looks up at her. “...Do you think the school might have something to do with Jikan being down there?” He asks.

Raina affixes him with a look, something unreadable behind her eyes. “...No..?” She replies, brow furrowed. “That’s - why the hell would Harkwell even do something like that? What would even be the reason?”

But Kori’s not listening, mind racing as he puts the pieces together. A random person couldn’t have put Jikan down there - not on school grounds. That just didn’t add up. And Jikan was an anomaly, maybe the staff wanted to see what he could do?

“Hey.” A snapping sound jerks Kori out of his thoughts, Raina snapping her fingers right in front of his face. “I know you’re cooking up your conspiracy theories, but seriously, cool it. If the teachers did have something to do with this, I doubt they’d keep him in the middle of the school grounds, where anyone could find him.”

“But what if it’s because he’s got weird powers?”

“Then why didn’t they do that to you?”

  
  


That stops Kori dead in his tracks. 

  
  


Raina sighs, rubbing her forehead. “...Look, I get you want a big cool reason for Jikan being here, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” She places a hand on his shoulder, eyes softening. “Just… go eat some dinner, okay? Forget about it.” And with that, she turns on her heel, walking out of the gym. Kori watches her go, eyes trailing after her beat up sliders. 

  
  


...That was true. If Jikan was being studied because of his abnormalities, why wasn’t he? That didn’t make any sense. And yeah, Jikan had been somewhat out in the open. The only thing keeping any old schmuck from finding him had been an old rusty cellar door and the ivy that was concealing it. 

Kori turns the faucet back on, letting cold water rush over his hands as he thinks. So maybe his first theory wasn’t correct. But still, something like this couldn’t be as simple as ‘it’s just a coincidence or something small.’ That was dumb. And it also made no sense. 

A few drops of blood drip down his hand, scratches on his knuckles bleeding bright red. He watches it drip, drip, drip down, swirling and distilling until the drain swallows it whole. 

Leaning over the sink like that, Kori has a distinct memory from when he was young. He was staring down a sink at some gas station bathroom. Everything was so big to him back then, sink included. He had to use a stool.

But as he hunched over, washing his hand, he felt a weird sense of vertigo. As if he leaned any further, the drain would widen up and swallow him whole. And yet, despite that, he still kept leaning forward, until he slipped and his head collided with chipped porcelain.

He’s snapped back to the present by the door opening up, a few guys walking onto the gym, laughing between themselves. Kori shuts the water off, standing back up straight.

The drain stares back at him. Taunting. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


3:07 AM.

The whole building lays asleep, not a sound to be heard. The moon filters through Kori’s window, bathing his dorm in harsh shadows. 

He’s not asleep. No, instead, he’s tying his shoes, sweater pulled over his loose fitting sleep shirt. 

Try as he might, he just can’t get the mystery out of his mind. He just wants to go down to the beach, even just the fence. Just to check. Just to see what’s out there, if anything at all. 

He quietly slips open the door, every muscle in his body poised to spring, curled tight with tension. Maybe he had just imagined the boat he saw, maybe it was all a trick of the mind. Maybe all of this was a trick of the mind, and Kori would awake the next morning with a head full of fog and eyes full of sleep. He’d go to lunch, speak to Raina, who slept well, since she didn’t have a roommate. When he’d look down at his wrists, they’d be clear of any mark.

But now was not the time to ruminate on that. He finds he doesn’t want to. 

  
  


Closing the door behind him, Kori crept down the hall , keeping close to the sides of the wall. The moonlight shines through the window’s bars, illuminating his face. 

Kori turns a corner, heading for the stairs, since an elevator chime would make too much noise. The hall opens up to the entrance, door to the stairway closed tight. It was a big and heavy wooden door, so opening it would be a pain, not to mention closing it quietly. Oh well. That was just -

  
  


The door creaks. 

Kori’s heart drops. 

Slowly, surely, it begins to slide open, darkness behind it. Kori silently curses, scrambling back the wall he came, hiding behind the corner. He peeks his head out to see what it was -

  
  


The door shuts with a quiet ‘click’.

The guy who shut it exhales, tugging on the ski mask around his head. With it on and his eyes closed, he almost blended into the shadows, black hoodie indistinguishable from the dark wall. Kori pales, realizing something.

He didn’t recognize this guy.

This was a break in.

_ The guy on the boat. _

He had been right.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


	10. 9 - skirmish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logically, he knew he should warn someone. Call one of the staff, pull the fire alarm, anything, really. But one question is left, ping ponging around in his brain like a bad screensaver.
> 
> What was this person doing here?
> 
> Kori watches the intruder turn around the corner, vanishing into the darkness. Slowly, so slowly that one might not even notice, Kori creeps out of his corner as well, shuffling across the side of the wall. The floorboards creak under his feet, and Kori curses silently, not even daring to breathe. Turning the corner, he once again assumes his peeping stance, watching the person continue down the hall, towards -
> 
> Fuck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> were back to weekly updates gamers.

  
  


Kori’s heart pounds in his chest, a lump of saliva gathering in his throat. He swallows, as quietly as he can, eyes locked onto the person in front of him, trying his best to blend into the shadows behind the wall he’s hiding behind. 

The intruder looks around, from left to right, eyes scanning right over the corner Kori’s in. Kori inhales sharply, air swishing between his teeth, before clamping his mouth shut. Surely this intruder had to have heard that, right? At that moment, his stifled gasp sounded like the loudest noise in the world. 

The intruder turns away, shoving his hands into his black hoodie pocket, and turning on his heel, back down the hall. Kori exhales a breath he had been holding, slowly poking his head out of the corner. 

Logically, he knew he should warn someone. Call one of the staff, pull the fire alarm, anything, really. But one question is left, ping ponging around in his brain like a bad screensaver.

What was this person doing here?

Kori watches the intruder turn around the corner, vanishing into the darkness. Slowly, so slowly that one might not even notice, Kori creeps out of his corner as well, shuffling across the side of the wall. The floorboards creak under his feet, and Kori curses silently, not even daring to breathe. Turning the corner, he once again assumes his peeping stance, watching the person continue down the hall, towards -

Fuck. 

The intruder pulls out what looks like a multitool, crouching down to the doorknob’s height. His dorm room door, however, swings open the minute the intruder puts any weight on it. Kori, like the blithering idiot that he was, had forgotten to lock the door behind him.

FUCK. 

The intruder looks around, and Kori ducks behind the corner again, pressing his back against the wall and holding his breath, heart pounding out of his chest. He clamps his hands over his mouth, too afraid to make a sound. His legs were quivering, and it was all he had in him to force himself to stay still, dammit!

The intruder straightens up, pulling a walkie talkie out of his hoodie pocket, silently flicking it to light. “We’ve got a problem.” The person whispers into the static.

“What’s the issue?” A crackly voice issues out from the other end. 

“He’s not here.” The intruder turns again, opening the door a little wider. “Seems he snuck out.”

They were looking for him.

_ They were looking for him. _

Why? Why? What the hell had Kori done to warrant this? Is it because he found Jikan? His powers? What was even happening? Kori can barely think, vaguely familiar adrenaline and terror coursing through every inch of his body because they were looking for him, they were trying to find him, but why but why but why?!

Kori watches with silent horror as the intruder creeps into his room, mumbling something else to the person on the other end that he can’t make out, ears pulsing. Why is he so freaked out? He was training to be a policeman, this was his job, so -

So -

  
  


A hand clamps down on his shoulder. 

  
  


Kori almost screams, almost, biting his knuckle so hard that blood comes spurting out. He stumbles back, hands scrabbling against the hardwood floor, trying to fight off his assailant, waving hands wildly. The dark figure looms large over him, face bathed in shadows, bug like eyes leering at him from the dark-

Wait.

  
  


Jikan takes a step forward, pressing a finger to his lips. Kori clamps his mouth shut, copper tangy on his tongue. His eyes flit to the Kori’s dorm room door, left ajar, then back at him. 

Kori wants to scream, or at least tell Jikan to probably run the other way, but he can’t. If he says anything, he’ll be heard.

Blood seeps down his knuckles, cuts from earlier training reopened after he bit into it. Jikan takes his hand, lifting it up. Kori fixes him a look, and Jikan rolls his eyes, pointing to the wound.

What, he had bit into his knuckle. So what? What did that have to do with anything -

_ Oh wait. _

  
  


Kori stands, facing the door, Jikan lurking behind him. He curls his hands into fists, feeling warm blood tingle and come to life, dancing around his head, bending to his will. 

He takes a step forward -

  
  
  


Something whizzes by this cheek, the intruder leaping out, some sort of gun pointing right at Kori’s head. Kori ducks, swiveling on his heel, blood bending around him in an arc, solidifying just in time to hit the assailants arm, thousands of red tiny needles imbedding into his skin, before bursting like a popped balloon. The assailant staggers back, pointing his gun at Kori again. Kori’s ready this time, blood seeping from his finger to block the bullet shot at him. 

It, however, isn’t aimed at him. 

Kori reaches back, mouth half opened in a shout to warn Jikan -

But Jikan ducks, spinning the other way on his heel, before dropping to a crouch, fists raised in a defensive stance. The intruder growls, all attention turned away from Kori. 

“Get out of here.” He hisses, cocking his gun. “This doesn’t involve you, freak.”

“I believe an attempted kidnapping of my friend does count as my business.” Jikan replies cooliy, eyes bright yellow under the moonlight, almost sickeningly so. 

(Kori wouldn’t go so far as to call Jikan his friend, but whatever.)

The figure growls, shoving the gun back in his hoodie pocket. “Kori.” He says, turning back to Kori, who backs up in response. (How did this guy know his name, anyways?!) “Back off. Now.”

“Why - why would I do that?!” Kori hisses, blood floating around his head bubbling and steaming in response to his anger. “You were going to shoot Jikan!”

“I’m going to give you three seconds to make a choice. Either you come with us peacefully, or I’ll be forced to neutralize you.” The figure slides his foot back, gloved hands flexing into fists. “One…”

Kori growls, blood around his head clotting and sharpening.

“Two…”

Jikan looks at the intruder, then back to Kori. He doesn’t make a motion to leave. 

“Three.”

  
  


The floor begins to bend and warp, moonlight distoriting around Kori. The whole room then twists, Kori stumbling to the side, shoulders slamming into the wall. His stomach churns, nausea and vertigo overtaking him as he looks down to see the floor beginning to dissipate, like a drop of paint in a cup of water, tiles stretching out into nothing. The blood around his head thickens, splashing to the ground harmlessly. He looks up, the intruder floating stationary where he stands. 

Hands wrap around his waist, and Kori stumbles back. Jikan stares, back, a semblance of surprise in his gaze, holding onto Kori to keep his balance. The hallway shudders, pulsing, like some disgusting organ of some enormous beast. The floor bends under them, Kori’s eyes widening as he sees the void below, feeling the hands around his waist tighten in what could only be construed as fear -

  
  
  


Suddenly, it stops. 

A hissing sound snaps Kori and Jikan out of their stupor, Kori pushing Jikan off of him. The intruder howls, being blasted back by -

-A fire extinguisher? 

  
  
  


Remy stands behind him, holding the offending object, spraying out the foam that’s pushing the intruder away. The figure stumbles forward, slipping on the foam and falling to the ground. 

Remy tosses the extinguisher to the food, fingers free of the silver rings he usually wore. “Leave them alone!” He yells. 

The intruder staggers to his feet. The dorm lights flicker on, and all around them, they can hear people waking up at the commotion. He turns back to scowl at Jikan, and his eyes, despite being covered by the ski mask, contorted with hate. 

“You’re dead, you hear me? Dead.” Kori growls, taking a step forward, but stumbles back when, just like the floor before, the intruder twists, body spiraling, air shuddering -

  
  


And he’s gone. 

  
  
  


Kori heaves for breath, feet slipping in the foam left behind. Not even any footprints remain, vanishing like they had never even been there. He looks up at Remy, who looks just as confused as he is, then back at Jikan, who’s eyes haven’t left Kori’s face. Realizing that they’re still relatively close, Kori stumbles back, ears burning. “A - are you okay?” He asks. “Did the guy get you anywhere?”

“No.” Jikan replies curtly, as if he’s answering a simple question like a dinner plan, and not responding to an assault attempt. “It’s you who we should be concerned about.”

“I -” 

A hand grabs Kori’s shoulder, spinning him around to face Remy, who wraps Kori in a huge hug, arms shaking. “Holy shit dude.” Remy exhales, before pulling away. “You alright? Any injuries?” 

“None that I can’t fix.” Focusing, he feels heat travel down to his knuckles, skin sealing itself and cuts knitting and healing. “You?”

“Nothing broken. Except my pride. What the hell was that?!” Remy exclaims, looking back at the mess he had made. “Who was that?!”

“I have no idea.” Kori admits, turning away. “I saw him at one point on a boat by the beach, but -”

“Wait - you saw him?!” Remy exclaims. Jikan fixes him a look as well, tilting his head in curiosity. 

“Yeah - well - Raina said it was probably nothing, so I didn’t -”

“You told Raina, but not me?!” Remy interjects. ”What the hell, man! I could have helped!”

“Unless you know anyone who rides boats near top secret property, or you happen to have super laser vision, I doubt you could have.” Kori responds, crossing his arms. “Point is, I heard him breaking in, so I went to investigate.” Okay, that isn’t the entire truth, but Remy doesn’t need to know everything right now. “I followed him, we fought, you know the rest. Although -” He turns, fixing Jikan with the best intimidating glare he can muster in his current frazzled state. “How’d you know I was up?”

“I felt a large spike of panic.” Jikan replies simply. “And so far, there’s only one person I know who worries that much.”

“...He’s got you there.” Remy snickers. Kori elbows him in the ribs, and he shuts up. 

  
  


“What is going on here?!” The three of them freeze, to see one of the teachers dash down the hall. It’s Mr. Jameson, red and grey hair frazzled, glasses tilted slightly to one side. 

“Crap.” Kori mumbles. 

  
  


* * *

Everyone is forced into the gymnasium to sleep after the three of them explain the situation to the staff. The Dean, of course, is rightfully panicked, and sends the entire island into lockdown while they attempt to find the intruders. So now, a bunch of vaguely tired and cranky college students are all packed into a gym at about four in the morning, so one can imagine what the general mood is like. 

(Spoilers: It’s not good.)

  
  


Cathay is the first to find Kori, who’s sitting on his sleeping back, knees pulled up to his chest. “I told you!” She exclaims, hands on her hips. “I told you not to do anything stupid, and look what happened! Are you brain-dead? Are you hard of hearing?! Did I not specifically instruct you -”

“Back off Cathay, he had nothing to do with it.” Remy interjects, sidling on up behind her. “He would have broken in regardless of whether or not Kori was awake.”

“Still - you could’ve - augh, nevermind.” Cathay grumbles, unrolling her sleeping bag right next to Kori’s and plopping down, arms crossed. Kori looks on, annoyed.

“Did I say you could sit there -”

“Oh, there you guys are.” Raina shuffles up as well, sleeping bag slung under her arm. “Guess I was wrong earlier, huh.”

“What happened earlier?” Remy intejects, head swinging back and forth like this is a very interesting tennis game. 

“He told me about his conspiracy theory he came up with.” 

“It’s not a conspiracy theory if I’m right!” Kori exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “And did I say you could set your stuff down next to me?”

“It’ll be like a slumber party!” Remy interjects, ignoring Kori entirely. “Man, I haven’t had one of these since elementary!”

“I doubt a lockdown counts as one.” Cathay mutters under her breath, picking at her acrylic nails. 

“Don’t say that, where’s your sense of fun?” Remy teases, poking Cathay in the side, who flushes a shade of red. “I bet you’ve never had a slumber party in your life.”

“What’s it to you, anyways?!” 

  
“You didn’t answer the question.” Raina butts in.

“That’s it, I’m going to bed.” Cathay flops down on her sleeping bag, throwing her pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the hubbub of the gymnasium and everyone in it. Remy and Raina dissolve into cackles at that, Raina clutching her sides in an attempt to stop. 

Kori has to snort a little at that, but his thoughts, against his better judgement, drift back to Jikan. He had been taken back upstairs to the infirmary, which was being heavily guarded, due to it being that Jikan seemed to have been the one the intruder was after. 

But… why?

  
  


And what did Kori have to do with it? 

  
  


Questions upon questions piled up in Kori’s mind, head spinning as one of the teachers called lights out, fluorescent dimming above him. As he lay in his sleeping bag, body aching from the hard floor, he tries his best to put it out of his mind, to go back to sleep.

  
  


It proves more difficult than previously imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write + draw more about this on my tumblr: https://squipedmew.tumblr.com/
> 
> Discord: https://discord.gg/7fGKDJ2
> 
> youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PtaW8dTzCzlDfb76VRU9Q


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